


Scarred Nights and Scarlet Knives

by APortInAnyStorm



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 28,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28894776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APortInAnyStorm/pseuds/APortInAnyStorm
Summary: Armed with naught but his trusted diary, a traveler sets out to discover the truth behind his arrival in Gensokyo and his role in the fate of the realm at large, noting down particular points of interest along the way.
Kudos: 1





	1. On the End (Part 1)

**_A/N: This series is updated more frequently[here.](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10994731/1/Scarred-Nights-and-Scarlet-Knives)_ **

* * *

_"I serve one master, one household, one realm. Traveler, you would do well to remember that beyond the barrier, there is only subjugation. There is only war, and the cries of skirmishing crows, harbingers of unrelenting devastation. Within, there is only the land, and its many scions, residing in a peace tempered by years of conflict. And there is I, the humblest servant in our world, and hence the greatest it has ever known. I often tell those select few who are foolish - and headstrong - enough to enter, 'Don't take the tranquility of the forests at face value. Behind that veneer of serenity lies a greater danger, one that haunts the minds of the maidens tending to the only constants in this otherwise chaotic world: this Mansion, situated at the heart of it all.'"_

_She took a sip of her tea, glancing upwards at me as she did so. An angry gleam pierced my vision momentarily whilst she crossed her legs; she then leaned back to fully take in the latest, and very much mortal, addition to the Mansion's vast living room. The knives were still there, strapped to her thighs, as they had been for hundreds of years. Some things never changed._

_"You're telling me this, and yet you know I've been here before," I started. But before I could continue, she put up a finger, and the look in her eyes hushed me without expectation of protest._

_"Gensokyo changes every time the moonlight swirls in the purple mist. Every time the bamboo thickets rustle in the wind. Every time the halls of the Mansion fall victim to the flowering night." She nodded to herself, as if she had come to realize something she hadn't before. Which, knowing her, must be something truly remarkable indeed. "And every time my mistress ventures out into the realm, too."_

_"So, every day." I waved a hand impatiently. "Rhetoric won't help you patronize me, Miss Izayoi. Your time with Remilia Scarlet should have told you that much-"_

_What happened next was something I, as a mere human, could never have even begun to process. One moment, she was sitting there, teacup gracefully in her grasp, and the next there was a dagger at my throat, and perhaps fifteen - no, fifty, even - others hovering in a menacing star around my head. Sakuya herself was glaring down at me from high above, the look of a predator gazing upon its prey all but apparent on her otherwise beautiful features._

_"I will not tolerate disrespectful mention of my mistress, traveler," she spat._

_For the briefest of moments, I considered retorting. I could, after all, remove myself from my current predicament if I really wanted to. But, with the threat of death very real and very imminent, and my objectives as of yet unrealized, I kept my temper in check and, closing my eyes in resignation, I nodded. Seconds later, I felt the dagger very reluctantly retreat from its position beside my jugular. I heard the armchair opposite me rustle, allowing me to open my eyes again._

_Her piety to her mistress has been steadfast and unwavering for so long, and yet if she knew... would she - or could she - continue to be so stubborn, so sure about herself, about this whole affair? And if Scarlet were allowed to do what she had always planned to do since arriving here - heaven knows how long ago that was - would Sakuya's loyalties remain unchanged? Or perhaps - just perhaps - Sakuya already knew, and she was simply biding her time, waiting for it all to come together, like pieces of a puzzle falling miraculously into each other, to form the picture that could turn the great wars of this realm into nothing but petty skirmishes in the face of such an impending disaster?_

_I took my teacup and drank slowly from it. It was bitter, but the leaves themselves withheld a quiet sweetness, and the essence of the tea granted me a soothing warmth in the cold, harsh climate of the empty mansion. I looked at Sakuya, who looked back quizzically, but with the same self-surety that was evident in everything she did. Deep down, I knew that I would do well to trust her, at least for the time being. Maybe there was hope for this world. We'd just have to wait and see, I guessed._

_And just as the last vestiges of that final thought left my head, the giant doors behind me creaked open, the sound shooting fresh dread into my heart. "Speak of the devil" would be a phrase a touch more appropriate than any other in this case, I thought wryly as I stood, and turned the next page in my, insofar, rather unfortunate life._

_How did all this come to pass?_


	2. On the Mansion Library

Beneath the quiet abode of Remilia Scarlet lay a structure to which full, unrestricted access was only granted to the privileged few. Such scholarly and intellectually curious individuals were far and few between, and so it was with the greatest luck that I was permitted to enter the hallowed halls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's library, the single and most powerful authority on knowledge of the realm and its largely forsaken history.

Or so I was told, at least. I had apparently been found, cold and shivering, at the edge of the body of water known as Misty Lake, and had been brought into the antechamber of the Mansion after some apprehension on the part of the the master of this household, a young vampire girl in a frilly pink dress by the name of Remilia Scarlet. However, my memories of my meeting with her were fuzzy - a result, I assumed, of the strong magic that reverberated throughout the interior of the Mansion.

My mind was otherwise like a blank slate, largely devoid of any clear memories prior to those I had just formed, and though I had maintained my basic cognitive functions and some recollections of the outside world remained, I was completely at the mercy of whomever had the misfortune of hosting me at the time. Ultimately, only after I had finished my cup of tea, a strange, bitter brew that carried an aftertaste reminiscent of the taste of iron, was I allowed to wander the halls, so long as I did not enter any of the more heavily-guarded rooms. Which led me, inexorably, here.

My guide and the host of this splendid place, the enigmatic Patchouli Knowledge, glided along the wooden floor, her steps leaving swirling echoes of tempered magic in their wake. The boards were old, having withstood the various burdens and tests of time, and yet they held my weight well. Perhaps it was the low hum of ethereal power coursing through the tall alleys and corridors of the library that preserved it in such a static, unchanging state. Or perhaps it was simply that I was the only person, aside from Patchouli and her diminutive assistant, Koakuma, who had passed over this particular section of the library, even in all its long, perennial existence.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" asked Patchouli as she pattered in and out of the shelves, with me trailing in her wake. "Like a grimoire of earthen spells, or some tome of history? Or," she paused, and turned to glance at me cautiously, "something even beyond that?"

I shrugged. "I will take whatever you are willing to offer, librarian."

Patchouli allowed herself a small smile. "Such humility. Very well, you will see what it is that we hide from the eyes of the ever-inquisitive world."

"I was not aware that you hid any such things in here."

"Come now, traveler." Patchouli mocked stifling a yawn, or at least, that was what it seemed like to me. "You are here in the greatest resource our land has and will ever know, and you assume that the place is safe enough for even the deadliest of Gensokyo's secrets to simply be lying around, free to be procured and produced at expense of the world? Don't look so scared, now," - she had seen the look of surprise that appeared on my face following her words - "we keep everything tightly under wraps. Here we are."

The process that followed was too complicated for me to reproduce in words - or it's entirely possible, too, that some kind of silent amnesiac had been cast upon me throughout - but when all the intricacies were done with, I found myself at the foot of a set of stairs even older than those of the main entrance, and in a chamber that looked even mustier than the already decrepit-looking upper level of the great library. This second basement floor was by no means smaller than the first, but the floors were marked with stone, and the lamps lighting the way forward seemed to carry a more sinister air. Patchouli, lantern in hand, began to walk, and I hastily followed.

As we journeyed, I felt the presence of some other entity nearby, but failed to pinpoint its exact location until the moment we turned the corner of one of the endless, ubiquitous wooden racks lining the chamber, and found myself face to face with an impish, devil-like girl. She nodded as my gaze turned to her, and after recovering from being startled by her sudden appearance, I nodded back. "Good evening."

The girl flinched at my reply, but provided no further answer of her own.

"There are no mornings or evenings here, traveler." Patchouli's voice reverberated around the hall, which was getting thicker with mist with every row passed. "In this place, all the books here are fast asleep. Only eyes cast upon their pages can awaken them from their slumber."

"You speak as if the books are alive," I interjected, "but are they not simply words on pages, some bound magically to this world, whilst others are simply left to be read and discarded at will?"

"To know of the soul of something is to, quite literally, read it like an open book. In here, things are no different." Patchouli stopped, and a leather-wrapped tome slid out of its slot in the shelf, flying swiftly into her outstretched hand. She handed the tome to me. It was heavy and the pages were ragged, but I endeavored, with Patchouli's good graces, to indulge myself in it nonetheless. Opening the pages, a strange array of words and numbers greeted me.

"What am I looking at?" I asked as I pored over the text, my mind drawing a complete blank over its meaning.

Patchouli raised her eyebrows. "See for yourself, traveler. The soul of this book is yours to know now."

I looked back at the yellowing pages again.

And, without warning, the world faded to black.

* * *

I came to in a small, stuffy room, a dim lantern hanging from a moldy ceiling, swinging slowly. The lantern was rusty and of simple make, yet there was no denying that its light came from a wellspring of a supernatural nature - for one, though it hung high above the room, no visible hooks or latches could be seen attaching it to the ceiling's surface. It simply hovered, swirling with the faintest tinctures of arcane energy.

As the lantern's glow pooled into the shadows, the room's contents gradually came into view. I was lying on a bed in the corner, and the only other item of furniture present seemed to be a desk set, an old oaken table with a set of drawers to complement it, and a similarly stocky chair upon which was sat a figure clad in purple silk robes that never seemed to remain still, fluttering with the aetheric wind that lent its owner the power she commanded as keeper of the realm's deepest, darkest secrets.

She heard my return to consciousness and turned, giving me the same smile she always wore when looking after her many guests. She had been writing a book - the pen in her hand and the scattered papers on the desk were good indication of that - and, considering that many of the library's selections had been penned by the librarian herself, that didn't surprise me in the least.

I quickly sat up, but Patchouli put up a hand to stay me. "Make sure you are feeling fully rested before you stand - the nauseatic effects of the magic you were exposed to may still linger."

"Magic?" I struggled to recollect what had happened. There was a book, leather-bound, yellowing, and full of what seemed to be the most random gibberish I'd ever laid eyes upon. And then...

"It was meant to give you nothing but a small shock, but I never expected the tome to hold so much power after so long." She bit her lower lip in thought. "And I never expected your adjustment to magic to be so... violent."

"I am a non-magical being, yes." I rubbed my head and felt a hard lump, freshly materialized, at the back.

"Not anymore." Patchouli herself stood, and came over to me. Placing a finger on my temple, she murmured something under her breath, and then stepped back. "That tome was a guide to basic youkai magic. Demon magic. The fact that you blacked out means that you found the soul of the book, and in it you unlocked your own potential, one that is latent in the vast majority of humans. I'm not saying that you'll be able to stop time or summon knives in times of need, like certain people do at the flick of a wrist. But perhaps you'll be able to do something you've never done before. That remains to be seen, of course, and if you stay here, maybe I could help you find out what it is your new powers will allow to happen."

It was obvious she was curious as to what the tome had done for me, or to me. So, too, was I.

"Sorry, Miss Knowledge. But I have a greater mission that I must attend to first, one that takes precedence over such a matter, and one that will involve incredible lengths of discovery, far more than what I have found here. I ought to depart soon, assuming I haven't slept for too long."

"Only a couple of hours." Patchouli seemed slightly disappointed. "Though I can't possibly see what could be more important than discovering what lies within yourself, rather than the outside world. Gensokyo is only as big as you want it to be - the human mind, however, is endless."

I smiled. "Thank you for your patronage, Miss Knowledge. But to me, Gensokyo is as limitless as any mind."

Following a few more exchanges of words and courtesies, I was ushered out of the great doors of the library and, after making my way past the Mansion gates, took my first steps into fresh air, and into Gensokyo proper.


	3. On Hakurei

Gensokyo, the Land of Illusion, was perhaps one of the only places in the world where advancement of the spirit was valued more highly than advancement of material technology. Youkai, spiritual beings that might be termed "demons" or "devils" by most outer-world humans, coexisted with humans and other creatures, though the occasional conflict inevitably sprang up and brought the realm's many factional schisms into play. Of course, none of these skirmishes lasted for very long, or the realm would have long since reverted to the haunted, barren state it maintained long ago, before the youkai came seeking refuge from the aggressive actions taken against them by the increasingly human-populated world.

It was hard to say how I arrived here, or whether I would return to normal human society again in the near future. But what I did know is that however I came here, I did so through the Barrier, the central source of which was the Hakurei Shrine.

The Shrine was a humble and frail-looking structure, a stock building of stone and wood built on a crumbling foundation, and was perhaps one of the most physically unassuming in all of the realm, especially given the grandiose manner in which the Scarlet Devil Mansion presented itself. Yet the role it played in the realm's inner workings, and perhaps in the realm's very existence, was absolutely undeniable. For it was the Shrine that kept the denizens of Gensokyo, human, youkai and other supernatural creatures alike, safe from the perils of the humans without.

I knew little about the true details of what happened before the Shrine's formation, or what exactly led to Gensokyo's self-enforced isolation from the rest of the world. All I had gathered, after hearing bits and pieces from the few members of the Scarlet Devil Mansion willing to talk to me, was that there had been some kind of war, and human society, the society I knew, won out. Thus, to protect the youkai and their few human allies, a powerful barrier was erected over Gensokyo with the Shrine as its source. To destroy the Shrine would perhaps lead to the re-exposure of Gensokyo to the world, and with the advent of human technology, who knew what kind of horrors might be wreaked on the realm following such a revelation. Considering that the barrier's effects caused Gensokyo's current time to lag behind that of the modern world by several centuries, I doubted Gensokyo's inhabitants would have been happy to find their peace shattered by the arrival of a much-improved and considerably more bloodthirsty enemy. Thus, the Shrine stayed, and I supposed the vast majority of Gensokyo were happy to leave it that way.

The Shrine itself took on a fairly decrepit appearance, and was nestled in the farthest reaches of eastern Gensokyo. The path leading up to it was old and worn, and even on the best of days, it still proved hard to even find the beginning of the road to its entrance. So, one could perhaps sympathize with the trouble I put myself in to trek all the way from the Mansion, around Misty Lake, and over to the Shrine.

Upon arrival, I was greeted by the sight of a young girl sweeping the stone pavement leading towards the Shrine as I finalized the rockier portion of my long walk, feeling the uneven beaten path cut into the soles of my boots. She wore two of the most billowy and comfortable-looking arm-wraps I'd ever seen, and a simple red vest to complement the white-and-trim theme on the arm-wraps. What struck me most about her appearance, however, was the massive red ribbon tied on her head, with two smaller ribbons hanging off the ponytails on her faded-brown hair.

Recognizing her as the host of this shrine, I approached her and gave her a perfunctory nod in greeting. She beamed brightly upon seeing me - perhaps friendly visitors were a rare occurrence in a land like this. Especially if those visitors were other humans, of all the people that could come here.

There were several reasons why Reimu Hakurei was such a big name within Gensokyo. One was that she was a direct descendant of the creator of the powerful Hakurei Barrier, which meant that Reimu herself, carrying the blood of the Hakurei in her veins, too harbored great potential as a user of worldly magic. Another, a direct consequence of the aforementioned reason, was her constant fights with those few in number, yet no less significant, close-minded youkai who sought to destroy her home, and maybe the rest of Gensokyo along with it. I had yet to find out what the logic behind such attacks might be, though I knew that extreme boredom could drive even the most sane mind mad.

Additionally, following the example of the shrine that raised her, I soon found that looks could be deceiving.

* * *

"Good afternoon," she chirped. It was then that I began to feel what seemed like lead weights tugging on my eyelids - I had not slept for a good, long while.

"Afternoon to you too, Miss Hakurei." I gestured towards the Shrine. "May I?"

Her eyes widened, and she nodded. "Please do."

I rummaged in my pocket as I approached the little altar, roofed by a thin oaken fringe that barely shielded the entrance from the sun's glare. Surprisingly, I managed to find my wallet, slightly battered, but still intact. Judging by the amount of money inside, it seems that whoever had sent me here to Gensokyo had tried to ensure that I had enough to eat for at least a year or so. I couldn't recall ever withdrawing this much from the bank, at least...

I fished out a note and slipped it inside the donation box perched on the altar, hoping the gods would accept a form of currency from several hundred years into the future. Reimu's eyes followed my hand's progress towards the box closely.

Clapping my hands together and bowing to the little statue gazing up at me from the ground, I smiled at the expectant Reimu. "May I stay for a while longer? I'm in need of a little rest."

"Of course." Reimu beckoned for me to follow her, then darted into the side entrance of the Shrine. When I reached the doorway and peered in, I found her bustling about the place, pulling a table and cushions into the center of the room, a kettle already humming quietly on the miniature stove above the fireplace. Taking off my shoes, I stepped into the room, feeling the floor, completely covered in straw matting, rustle underneath my feet. A small coating of dust also matted the ground, but the straw was still cool and refreshing to the touch.

The contrast between this place and the Scarlet Devil Mansion could not have been more stark, more clear. The Mansion was a cold, large, empty place, and every whisper echoed in and out of the corridors, shimmering through the halls with an almost aetheric quality. No wind ever penetrated the walls of its chambers, and yet there was no denying the harsh, dark, and wholly disquieting veil that was cast over everything, an all-encompassing frostiness pooling into every corner, every niche, seeping into your bones. Even in the day, there was little comfort to be found from the sunlight, so tinted and warped by the windows that it became nothing but a mellow glow, a husk of dull illumination. The Mansion's size in itself warranted a second visit, though probably, and hopefully, not any time soon.

The Hakurei Shrine, however, clung tightly to its humble roots, and never seemed to tire of them. The interior was as dilapidated as the exterior, and yet it was so homely, so comforting, and so warm. Unbelievably warm. Still, the breeze coursing through the open doorway cooled the sweat on my back, and the smell of sweet tea permeated the slightly damp air inside. Only my deep-seated sense of courtesy prevented me from laying on the straw mattress and falling asleep immediately in the shadow of the lazy midday sun.

Reimu took a cushion and sat on it, adopting the knees-forward seating position I still had yet to master. I opted instead, as she patted the table and motioned for me to sit down, to cross my legs and use the cushion as a foot-stool of sorts, so refreshing was the feeling of the cold straw beneath me. We spent the next few minutes making small talk, letting the breezy chirping ubiquitous in all summers calm our ears as we chatted. As the kettle pouted, and Reimu brought it along with some teacups to the table, she popped the question.

"Your travels carry much color, traveler, though I am surprised you have yet to encounter any, well, more hostile entities on your way here." After hearing a summary of my experience in Gensokyo so far, she seemed eager to talk. "I am sure you will find some way of returning some day." She paused, and, slightly apologetically, she continued. "But you see, the process of returning to the outside world is as arbitrary as it is complicated. I am afraid some source of great power, or at least someone acquainted with the process, may be required. Outside the youkai, I do not know of anyone living here who has managed to leave yet."

"That's a little unfortunate." I took a sip of the tea she offered me. It was herbal in nature, with a distinct citrous aftertaste that carried away the mild bitterness that brought it forward in the first place.

"It is. But enough about that. We should make your stay in Gensokyo as comfortable as possible, while we can. I am not the greatest tour guide, but I can tell you a little about everything. Is there anything you have in mind, or anywhere you would like to go next?"

I raised my eyebrows, and thought about it for a moment. "I guess so."

"Let us hear it, then."

* * *

The location I next suggested I could search for answers at was a landmark I hadn't felt the need to examine closely on my way to the Hakurei Shrine, before a discussion with Reimu convinced me otherwise. I was told that it was often best to retrace one's steps when trying to figure anything out in Gensokyo, as the realm, despite being frozen in time within the barrier's hold, also constantly changed. Plus, with Reimu with me, I could have less fear of running into any unwanted contact, without anyone to back me up should things go awry.

"We are all good and pleasant folk here," Reimu said as we made our way into the forest bordering Misty Lake. "It is simply the case that none of us really knows how to resolve our differences without simultaneously relieving our boredom."

"Well, seeing as I'll be here a good while longer, I hope to meet more of this world's folk as long as I'm around." Recalling something Patchouli Knowledge had mentioned about Misty Lake, I continued, "I hear Misty Lake is home to monsters in addition to fairies. Is it safe?"

That last question was surely a pointless one to ask to someone harboring as much power as Reimu Hakurei, but Reimu seemed eager to put my fears to rest. "Any monsters there that would attack you can be negotiated with. Most fish tend to shrink away from human proximity. But there's always one or two..." She sighed.

I was on the verge of asking her about what she had said, but then her eyes brightened, and she pointed in front of us. "Look, the lake is just ahead."

By now, the sunlight had already dimmed to the extent that the sky had turned bright purple, with blotches of red here and there, marred by the occasional passing of clouds. As we left the shadow of the hill upon which the Shrine rested, I couldn't help but mull over what Reimu had told me just before we departed. As the sun had set, I had asked her about the possibility of leaving Gensokyo through the barrier, in the same way things often arrived here. She smiled sadly as I posed my question, and I knew then what her answer would be.

"Though we get the occasional item from the other side, no one from Gensokyo has ever been able to leave this place in a similar manner. Such is the power of the barrier, regrettably. Of course, it has preserved us in this state of harmony for so many centuries, but sometimes even I wonder what lies beyond..." She suddenly perked up, and leaned forward, eyes shining as she looked to me. "What is it like? Outside, I mean."

The modern era carried many features that, though seeming common and ordinary to us, would have seemed like miracles to those for whom time never waited. I began telling her as much about the world as I could, and with every new insight, she grew more and more incredulous.

"Flying tubes of steel that carry humans around?" She stifled a giggle. "Why bother, when you could just fly around by yourself?"

"Humans in our world aren't capable of aviation. We just don't have the ability to. Magic isn't exactly something we can... do."

"A regression, if you ask me, to a more powerless state." I knew most of the people in Gensokyo shared Reimu's view on the matter. Little wonder, then, that I was treated as a guest everywhere I went. "Though I'm sure if Patchouli gave them all a few check-ups, they'd be flying around in no time." She sobered up slightly. "Seven billion... it used to be a few million back then. I doubt any of us expected something like this."

The thought of having seven billion hostile entities surrounding your home would give even the most confident of people pause for thought. For the first time, I found it in myself to sympathize with the people of Gensokyo. Though, of course, I believed the Hakurei Barrier would do its job for as long as it took.

As long as it took... but for what? For the world to end? How long could this peace last for?

"Hey, traveler." Reimu snapped a finger in front of my face, and pointed in front of us again. "We're here."

"What?" Still slightly dazed, I followed the direction her finger was pointing in. What greeted me might as well have been the largest mirror I'd ever seen. It was night, and through the trees, I could see the moonlight leaving a trail of searing white across the still water. A small breeze picked up as we neared the lake's brim, and the water moved as one, rippling back and forth, the reflected moonlight on the surface shivering in the wind, but never breaking its stream. The trees shuddered, and I shuddered with them, pulling my jacket tighter towards myself. Reimu, though wearing only a cloth robe, seemed entirely unaffected by the incoming cold.

"I suppose she is sleeping now, but I'm sure some others are still awake," Reimu said. We began walking around the edge, taking care not to lose our footing and slip into the water.

"Who?" I asked.

Reimu glanced at me. "It depends what kind of answers you're looking for."

I shrugged. "I don't know what I would ask. What kind of information would I get from people who live in a lake, as opposed to from people who live on land?"

"In all honesty, I cannot say. Water sprites are a dumb lot."

"I'll have you take that back, Reimu," chirped a voice behind us.

* * *

I snapped around, looking for the source of the voice. The cold air had seeped right through my clothes, and I could feel myself teetering over the edge of unconsciousness. If the voice hadn't startled me, I might well have simply dropped dead halfway through our trek.

"Who's there?" I asked. There was nothing in front of me. All I saw were the swaying trees, the rippling water, the moonlight pouring into the dark forest-

"Down here," said the voice, in an obviously irritated tone.

I looked down. There, standing at around waist height, was a little girl. She had vibrant blue hair, and a simple blue dress to complement it, as well as a giant blue ribbon that looked uncannily similar to Reimu's. She was standing with her hands on her hips, looking at my eyebrows, as if that could somehow make her seem taller than me. She stared up, and I glanced nervously back.

"Hello there, little girl," I said. "Gah!"

A small icicle had materialized out of nowhere and headed straight for me. It struck me in the knee, and though it couldn't penetrate the skin, it sent shockwaves reverberating through the nerves in my kneecap, and my right leg gave. Without warning, I was sent plunging straight into the cold water.

Daggers shot straight through my bones as I landed. As I struggled to move my joints, which had locked together from the shock of the impact, I heard a boom reverberate across the clearing. My eyes jerked open, and through the bubbling water I could see the sky glow blood red. The glow faded as quickly as it had come, and I stumbled onto the bank of the lake, coughing and spluttering. As my mind cleared and I rubbed the water from my eyes, I had my first sight of a tremendous testament to the power of Hakurei.

A crystalline light shone high above the lake. Bathing within the light was Reimu, one hand outstretched, rows upon rows of meticulously decorated cards hovering in unison, weaving in and out of her fingers. Her robes fluttered wildly, and it was almost possible to see shimmering waves of heat and wind beneath her, currents of magic tracing her every move, supporting her ascent towards the pinnacle of power.

A groan came from some distance in front of her, and I looked over to see the little girl leaning against a tree, clutching her temples, shaking the pain from them as she attempted to stand, struggling almost as much as I did. A black-and-white charm above her head evaporated just as she regained her footing, and it was evident that the charm was of Reimu's doing, as with a swipe of Reimu's hand, two more appeared by her side.

"The traveler is my guest, Cirno," Reimu said sternly as she looked down upon the girl in blue. "Do not let your pettiness get the better of you."

Something cracked beneath my feet, and I looked down to see a web of stunning white begin to spread across the lake's exterior. I leapt out of the water seconds before the ice could solidify and trap me in its embrace.

"Anyone who looks down on me will get only what they deserve," Cirno replied brashly. "The traveler isn't your friend - step aside, and I'll spare you the need to face me."

The cards hovering around Reimu's hands stopped, suspended in complete stasis. Then, without warning, they darted towards Cirno, a hail of red flitting across the lake's edge faster than the eye could see, so that it looked like a single stream of paper flying through the air.

Cirno flicked her hand upwards, and an equally impressive storm of icicles materialized from behind her, rising to meet the red blizzard in equal number. As red and blue clashed, the conjured objects annihilated each other, reverting back to their primal, magical forms, disappearing with small bursts of light. It was akin to watching a deadly dance of fire and ice, enemies equal in number and power, no side taking the lead.

Inevitably though, the lake water that had evaporated during the day came to Cirno's aid, and a second ring of icicles overrode Reimu's attack, parrying the cards and hurtling towards Reimu herself. With a point of a finger from Reimu's other hand, a circle of inscriptions grew from the tip of her finger, absorbing the icicles and simultaneously feeding on the magical bullets, expanding in size until it was thrice the size of Reimu. The shield vanished with a second motion, and the lake was dark again.

For several moments, nothing moved. Then, Cirno turned to me, staring unflinchingly as she spoke.

"What do you want, human?" she asked coldly.

* * *

So cold was the water's edge, so chilling was the breeze, that at first, I could not find it in myself to speak. But as I opened my mouth, Reimu held a hand up to stay my tongue.

"The traveler is lost, Cirno." For the first time, Reimu spoke in a quiet, yet clearly firm tone. I doubt many had the chance to see her so subdued. "He came from outside the barrier, and he only seeks passage home."

Cirno's eyebrows creased in confusion. "He's a complete foreigner to this place. Why do you bother? I thought you only had a thing for youkai."

"I can only find sincerity in his actions. There is no malice coming from this man."

"You've always been a sucker for helping people. Maybe it's time you stopped stomping around the place like you owned it."

"Why, you-"

"Reimu, stop!" I pleaded. I knew I had to interject before the duo started fighting again, but when both maidens looked at me, I was nearly at a loss for words. "I... feel that we won't get anywhere with you two fighting. Cirno, you may choose not to believe me, but I have no recollection of how I got here, or why I got here. I only want help, and Reimu told me we could find some here."

Cirno's gaze never wavered, but I could at least sense that her guard was lowering.

"What kind of help were you expecting from me?" Cirno asked, appearing bemused. "The others are asleep, and you're obviously not from around here."

"Answers." I bit my lip, thinking of what to say next. "A way to exit this realm. If I have to ask everyone who lives in this place the same question, I will." Looking away from Reimu, I added, "Especially since even a descendant of the creator of the barrier doesn't know."

Cirno sighed. "As if you thought I'd know what to do. I've been living here at the lake for as long as I can remember. Barriers, wars, whatever - I don't care."

"But you have to admit that you're at least a bit curious about his plight," Reimu chipped in. "Otherwise, knowing you, you wouldn't even have bothered hearing him out."

"Knowing me, huh." Cirno rolled her eyes. "If you're such an expert on the way things operate around here, then you wouldn't have brought the traveler here, would you?" She paused. "I am a little interested. Even so, I know nothing beyond what kinds of things fall in from the other side of the barrier. Some of that stuff ends up in the lake, after all."

I urged her on. "Anything will help."

"Well, let's see." Cirno fished into her dress pocket, and took out a weathered, thin black box. "The Princess found this the other day."

"The Princess?" Another new name to add to the ever-growing list of new names.

"Princess Wakasagi. A mermaid. Anyway, she gave it to me, since she didn't know what it was for. It appeared only a couple of days ago, so it should be from your time, whenever that is." She tossed the box over, and I hastily reached over to catch it. It slipped through my fingers, and the sound of the box splashing into the water, the sound of my shame, reverberated through the empty lakeside air.

Upon closer inspection, what had looked like a simple black box from a distance turned out to be, of all things, a smartphone. It had the glass screen, power and volume buttons, and everything else you'd expect it to have. A pity that it didn't turn on - perhaps Cirno carrying it around with her had fried - or frozen - the circuits in the device. The fact that I remembered what a smartphone was surprised me then, as did my memory of airplanes when I was describing the outside world to Reimu, but at the time, I was simply happy to find something from my time in this temporally ancient realm.

"Something you recognize?" Cirno asked, seeing the small smile that grew on my face.

I nodded. "It is something. Would you mind if I kept it?"

She shrugged. "I don't need it."

I pocketed the phone, and turned to Reimu. "I guess we could keep looking, if Cirno can't offer us any help."

"I suppose so." Reimu took one last angry glance at Cirno, as if trying to say, 'You keep off my guest!'. Cirno glared back.

In hindsight, maybe we should've just headed for the Human Village instead, even if it was farther away.

* * *

The new addition to my jacket pocket repeatedly struck the side of my abdomen as we made our way back to the Hakurei Shrine. Though the weight, which sat next to my journal, was slightly uncomfortable, I felt a glimmer of hope for the first time since I'd arrived here. Looking back at all the hours spent weaving in and out of Misty Lake's surrounds, hoping not to attract the curiosity of any of the more inquisitive and hostile of the locals, I realized how nice it was to finally have a companion, if not a friend. Solitude was tolerable before, but now I felt as if I could never go anywhere within the bounds of this realm without someone - someone human - watching my back. And with the smartphone, my first source of hope, in my possession, I hoped to continued following whatever clues I could salvage. At this point, there was little I wouldn't do to get the answers I wanted.

Not that I minded any company of smaller stature, either. Reimu was next to me, and standing unusually close. Not a surprise, considering who was trailing somewhat awkwardly behind us.

"Why are you following us?" Reimu finally broke the ice, swiveling to confront our unnaturally voiceless follower.

Cirno shrugged. "I hate to say this, but like I said before, I'm curious. I want to know how the traveler got here. It's not like he's anything special, right?"

Reimu squinted at Cirno. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"You're not being yourself, Reimu." Cirno's tone was as frosty as the icy mist that steamed quietly in her wake. "Sure, we get many people who are thrown in from the other side. But," she turned to look at me, "you're... different, somehow. Maybe it's just that you're a newer face than most of the humans around here."

"What eras are the humans in the villages usually from?" I asked.

Cirno shrugged. "Can't tell you. I know nothing about human history. But they seem to accept us well enough. So, we don't complain. You, though - you're different."

"I'll take that as a compliment." We continued in further silence.

The Shrine came into view. With its cracks and dents accentuated under the misty moonlight, even the shadows cast on the surrounding grass seemed to capture - and hence emphasize - just how old the place really was. Which, of course, begged the question: How old were Reimu, and Cirno, and Patchouli, and everyone else who resided in this realm? Did anyone ever die, be it from overzealous skirmishes or from natural causes? Did age even matter in this place?

I relayed those questions to Reimu and Cirno, but any clear answers from them remained forthcoming. I decided to save them for a later time - I was tired, and our jaunt around the lake had only served to make matters worse. As we re-entered the Shrine's main room, I gave in to the notion of rest, and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, the sunlight was streaming in, a glare that almost blinded me as soon as my eyelids parted. I grunted, and rolled over.

I then remembered where I was, and darted awake.

The same smell of citrus tea greeted my nose. A familiar warmth descended upon my senses, complemented by a cool breeze streaming through the windows, thrown wide open to allow the damp grassy odor from outside to mix with the sweetness of the Hakurei Shrine's signature herbal concoction within.

I looked around. Reimu wasn't in. Probably sweeping the pavement outside, or cleaning up somewhere.

I heard a snort, and looked down to see another figure sprawled right next to where I had been sleeping. A trail of drool had escaped from Cirno's gaping mouth, and as she turned, her mouth curled into a silly little smile, and she giggled. Remembering her verbal ferocity from the night before, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at the sight.

Looking out the window, I spotted Reimu in the distance, clutching her trusty broom, swinging it back and forth. The crickets sang. The trees whistled. The sun continued shining. The teapot on the stove puffed contentedly.

Whatever concerns I had could wait.

* * *

It was night-time in Gensokyo. I huddled over at the edge of the lake, pulling my legs towards me, half an eye watching as the water, so still as to be almost dead, rolled over the patches of moss on the rocky step that divided the land between green and blue. The moon was perfectly reflected in the great mirror that lay at the heart of the surrounding forest, and high above, the reflection's source hung on the wall of the sky, glued to the canvas by the waxy clouds plastered lazily across the perennial darkness.

I could never recall a place like this in the world that I once knew, for between the images from my recent travails and the farther, fainter memories of my childhood, there was a large, gaping chasm, as deep as the bottom of the lake that I now sat beside. I cared not to recount what I knew, for nothing that I could remember would aid me in my ultimate aim of escaping this place. Yet, I had always harbored an upwelling of adventurousness within me, and this disquiet, this small flicker, now spread like wildfire as the true scale of this realm became apparent to me. This was not just a patch of forest here and there, or a mansion overlooking a body of water. This was an entirely different world, an elevated dimension where its denizens, though trapped in the past, felt as free to move about as normal humans might do. More so, even, with the help of magic.

What Patchouli had imparted on me in the library of her mansion had left a lasting effect in my psyche. It was a lesson beyond any which could be given by word or by picture. As the events of this diary's first few entries began to sink into me, I began not only to remember, but also to relieve. A worldly lock had been cut; a switch had been flipped deep inside my brain. For the first time, at least as far as my mind would allow me to recollect, I could distinctly feel the nature of the veil draped over all of Gensokyo. It was a pulsating, intangible force that could be disturbed, could be pulled and pushed and toyed with at will by those who knew how to, but it was much too heavy to be lifted.

This, too, led to another revelation – if, somehow, the blindfold was pulled off the eyes of every sentient being that resided here, not only would they lose their magical abilities, but the entire piece of land upon which Gensokyo sat would be violently ripped through time, all the way into the present world as I, and the few other humans that lived here, knew it. If that were to happen, the repercussions would be severe, to say the least, not just for the people in this dimension but also for the people in mine. It was a sobering thought, but at the same time, if it did happen, how could any of us possibly stop it?

I suspected that the key lay with the guardian of the portal between the worlds, who now approached from behind, humming softly to herself, her robe sailing loftily over the grass as she made her way over to me.

"Traveler, you must be hungry." She set down a tray beside me. On it was a plate of rice, accompanied by white chunks of fish, a salad comprised of mixed greens, and the expected bowl of miso soup to top the meal off.

"Thank you. I am famished," I admitted. "It smells delicious."

I could almost hear her smile as she patted her robe down and took a seat beside me. A tiny pebble was dislodged as she took her place in the grass, and it tumbled down into the water, splashing audibly in the otherwise quiet night. Upon contact, the lake rippled obligingly, perfect circles reverberating out into the center of the water, sending shockwaves through the painting of the moon's great white exterior.

I took the rice, plucked a couple of fish chunks from the tray, and began to eat. The shrine maiden watched me intensely.

"It's good," I assured her through a mouthful of food. "Very good."

She lifted a hand to her mouth and giggled. "I am glad."

A twinge of embarrassment shot through my chest, and I completed the rest of my meal in silence. The moon, recovering from the last of the ripples, gazed back at me as I sipped the soup, letting the slightly rough miso stock brush past the back of my throat.

I put the bowl back on the tray and took it as I stood up and made ready to go back.

"Oh no, allow me." Reimu rushed to take the tray from my hands.

"It's fine. You cooked this, the least I could do is wash it for you."

Another rustling through the grass, this one much quieter than the last, drew near.

"You two are like a married couple. Just let him do what he wants, Reimu."

"We are not like a married couple," Reimu snapped. I was lucky she spent the next few minutes embroiled in her usual brawl with Cirno, or she would have seen, even in the waning light of the moon, that my neck was bright red up to my ears.


	4. On Kirisame

As the night wore on, I tossed and turned under the wool blanket, shifting my body and pulling my legs towards me until the straw mattress underneath was able to hold all of my tired, fatigued figure. I had not gotten any fatter or thinner since I came here – in fact, my appearance had not changed in a long, long while: my hair, facial or otherwise, had not grown out, my hands and feet felt as rugged as they did the first time I awoke, cold and shivering, on the edge of the lake, under the watchful gaze of the great Mansion overlooking it. It felt like an eternity since I had arrived, even though I knew it had only been a few weeks. Or had it?

On the occasions that I did manage to get a longer bit of sleep than usual, a series of strange dreams always came to me. These ranged from vivid flashes of imagery from battles long past, to a dark, gripping sensation that threatened to pull me under the water, suffocating me, sending me spiraling down until I awoke, gasping for air, sometimes startling the one or two occupants of the Shrine that slept beside me. Reimu would ask after me and prepare a small bowl of barley tea to calm my nerves; Cirno would yap at me for my discourtesy, and roll over with a harrumph.

I suspected that there was more to my arrival here than I currently knew, and I could think of one of many places that might provide me the answers that I sought: the Human Village, a haven hidden safely away from the line of sight of the vast majority of the resident youkai. It would perhaps serve me well to go there, assuming I could hack my way through the Forest of Magic, whose name I had learned from one of Reimu's many lectures about the geography of the realm. Many a danger lurked in the Forest, but I was assured that there would be help if I so needed it.

I took the offer, and was greeted the next day by an easygoing, sanguine young girl, who rapped on the wooden door at the break of dawn and announced herself to us through the window.

"Your ride is here," she called, whacking the bristles of her broom against the wooden walls. A small plume of dust gushed into the room.

"Come in," Reimu sighed. "Take off your shoes, please. And your hat."

Marisa Kirisame quickly rid herself of her boots and giant witch hat, and with a click of her fingers, the room was alight. A small but powerful flame made itself cozy on the seat of her palm, peering out at the pairs of squinting eyes reluctantly looking back at it.

"Thanks for coming, though you're pretty early. Not that I'm complaining, anyway. Also," Reimu's voice suddenly stiffened, "don't touch that. It's brand new."

Marisa withdrew her hand, which had been hovering over the tea kettle. "Liar. It's the same kettle you always use."

"Cirno broke the old one when she tried to make iced tea. I just happened to get one that looked the same."

"Mrghh," muttered Cirno, still half-awake and rubbing her eyes.

"I don't even know why you're still here." Reimu glared at the ice fairy, who responded with a blank stare.

"It's cold at night in the lake. I like it here."

"I am sure you do, but I'm running out of food a lot quicker now, especially since I have three mouths to feed. Not that I mind having you here, traveler," she quickly added, giving me a reassuring smile.

"I can't express my gratitude enough," I replied hastily. "But I suppose I'll be gone for a while now, so that will ease the burden on you for the moment."

"It is no problem. I would go with you, but I have a mandate here, for the moment. The Shrine requires my attentions for a few more days."

"I understand completely. I wouldn't have troubled you to come with me anyway, though I am still thankful for your recommendation of Miss Kirisame."

"Just Marisa is fine." The witch pushed her golden locks over her shoulders. "I can't promise a smooth journey though, broom or not."

"I'll cope. I have all the time in the world."

Marisa chuckled. "You may be right. Now, hop on." She brought the wizened old broom in her hand down, clambered over it, and motioned for me to go outside. I took my seat – if it could be called that – behind her. For the briefest of moments, we sat there, picturesque, the flame in her hand being doused by the tiny rays of sunlight creeping over the hills.

"You'll need to hold onto me, you know," Marisa said after what seemed like a full minute. "I can't fly this thing and keep you aboard at the same time."

"I… I'm sorry. I was wondering why you wouldn't take off." I clamped my hands awkwardly around her waist. Under that giant, frilly costume was a surprisingly thin and lean figure, though the curve around her hips was still evident, at least from what I could feel.

"Have a safe trip." Reimu leaned against the doorframe and gave me one last smile. I returned it just in time to settle onto the broom before it rocketed away, and my focus was now fully on keeping the churning contents of my stomach from escaping into the misty air.

* * *

The well-worn handle of the broom parted the fog in front of us as we skimmed the tops of the trees, a gust of dislodged leaves whirling and twirling in our wake. We had been traveling for the better part of an hour, and yet the scenery was the same as it always seemed to have been, row after row of coniferous perennials rising up from the screen of mist that obscured our vision, beckoning us forward, then bending away as we approached, Marisa's expert hand guiding us through the valley of branches that formed. At the front of our ride was attached a small lantern that swung violently as we twisted and turned, occasionally smacking one of the branches head on and spinning around the axis of the broom's handle. The fire within it, also another magical construct, spluttered and spewed wanton bursts of flame, yet whenever it made contact with the derelict oak of the broom, it seemed to pull away, as if desperately trying to avoid setting its master's means of flight alight.

"How much longer?" I called into the empty gray air.

"We're going to take a detour and stop by my house." Marisa glanced to her left and squinted, but the fog continued to offer no clarity. "I have something I need to do first. I think we're close."

"How can you tell?" I looked down as far as I dared. The sea of misty green rapidly rose up to greet me, and I quickly averted my gaze.

"The magic is getting stronger. It's thickening. Also, look." She pointed vaguely to her right. I followed her finger, and saw in the distance a hazy, dark gray patch.

"What's that?" As I watched, the patch began to float upwards, and trace the direction of our travel. It was following us.

"Spores. They grow into mushrooms that are chock full of magic, but are also extremely dangerous for most living beings to consume. Unless you have a good handle on your magic," she tapped the hem of her purple witch hat, "you won't return from the hole it digs for you."

"So, you've eaten them before?"

"A few times. But they don't do much to me. I just get a little hangover and that's about it." As if on cue, the spores abruptly shrunk away and melted into the backdrop.

Marisa tugged at her broom, and we began to descend, easing into a small clearing that probably would've taken weeks to find on foot, even if you had the magical affinity that Marisa enjoyed. Reimu had told me that, despite all her myriad powers, Marisa was not a youkai, tengu, or some other kind of magical being – she was as human as any of us. Perhaps all the time spent living and breathing in such thick magical air had aided her in unlocking the latent powers that supposedly all humans had, if we would only devote ourselves to total seclusion in the middle of a forest full of special toxic mushrooms and semi-sentient spores.

We fell lightly into the hole in the blanket, and I disembarked not-so-elegantly from the mount, almost tripping over totally flat ground and plunging my face into the tall grass matting the forest floor. This area of the Forest looked totally normal, though I knew looks could be deceiving, an adage that was more than appropriate in a place like this.

Marisa hopped off the broom and it immediately ceased to hover, plopping onto the ground, the lantern clanking noisily as it was also thrown downwards. An outstretched hand called the broom back to its owner, and we began trudging through the thicket. Around us, the leaves danced in greeting, borne aloft both by wind and an almost intangible ether that I could barely feel sinking into my pores, stirring and thickening the air into a viscous concoction. It wasn't difficult to breathe, it was simply… a new experience, feeling the air almost pour down my throat, as if liquid, yet evaporating back into its original gaseous form once it vanished down my windpipe.

A line of trees and low-hanging vines parted to reveal yet another dilapidated cabin, not far removed from the make of Reimu's humble Shrine, but much more attuned to nature's comings and goings. More vines creeped over the wooden walls which, despite their derelict appearance, showed no signs of rotting. A simple sloping stone roof covered the abode, with fallen fruits and leaves scattered across its surface, gathering in small piles at its base. A single window allowed what little light there was to enter, though a lamp burned brightly from within, sat atop a miniature oaken worktable. In all, it was as much as one might need to survive and live with themselves, and little more than that.

"What's there to do in this forest?" I wondered aloud.

"What's there to do in Gensokyo?" Marisa chuckled in reply. "I collect plants around the Forest and make potions out of them. Then I take them to the Village and sell them, or trade them for food."

"Seems like a quiet life for one of the most powerful witches in all the land."

"In a place like Gensokyo, the only thing power brings is security, nothing more. It's a big place, but we know its limits, and I have no desire to rule over people who I already know well. Plus," she laughed, "they would never let me. Not without a fight."

"Seems fair enough. Are you the only one who lives here?"

"I wish." Marisa gave me a rueful smile and opened the door to the cabin, gesturing for me to enter. "I do have a noisy neighbor, but we get along. Usually."

Reimu had told me about Marisa's neighbor. Another magician of similar strength, but of a different discipline entirely – while Marisa dealt in energy and raw power, her fellow sorcerer dealt in manipulation and telekinesis. Two very different fighting styles, none in any way better than the other.

Marisa flung her wavy golden locks back and began rummaging through the shelves in her living room. There were only two rooms in the cabin, one main room with an old couch, the aforementioned worktable with two chairs to match, and a large shelf that stood next to the door to the bedroom, an even smaller chamber with barely enough space to swing the door open without hitting the bed.

I glanced at the worktable. There were detailed drawings of different types of grass, stacked under an empty flask being used as a paperweight. A potion rack sat at the back of the desk, columns of green, blue and purple sealed by mud-brown corks.

"Found it!" Marisa tugged a tome off the shelf and opened it. "Let's see. One order of common medicine, which is… three spoons of crushed fairy grass, half a stalkless blue-cap mushroom, half a vial of common spores, and a dash of lemongrass extract and sugar to help it go down. Please bear with me," she rushed over to the potion rack and plucked one of the blue tubes out, "I have been busy with orders lately. People are getting sick quicker and quicker nowadays."

"I understand, take your time." I leaned back into the couch, settling into the frayed cushions as I observed Marisa scurrying about the tiny cabin. A tiny ray of sunlight prodded the back of my hand, but as soon as I was aware of it, it was gone.

* * *

We spent the next half an hour waiting for her latest potion order to come to boil, making small talk on the couch as the smell of lemongrass filled the room and departed via the tiny open crack in the window.

"How long have you lived here for?" I asked. The house itself looked at least a hundred years old, if not more. The lilac paint on the peeling wallboards was noticeably faded, turning a gentle shade of pink in the lamplight. The boards themselves had been hastily nailed together, and the oversight in the cabin's construction now showed itself in the form of sprouts and vines sneaking into the many gaps in the walls, gathering around the worktable, bathing in the flickering glow. It was almost as if Marisa, or whoever had lived here before her, had not intended on a long stay in this forest, but then found themselves unable to escape, and so were doomed to make their habitation permanent.

Yet, Marisa, despite her frilly housemaid's dress and wizened old hat, radiated anything but dereliction. Her abundant locks fell delicately over her shoulders, springing forth from underneath the purple hem of her headwear. She had jet-black eyes and a piercing gaze that spoke of an intense curiosity, a youthful inquisitiveness about anything that was of interest to her – in this case, me.

"My whole life," she said. Somehow, that seemed like a sufficient answer to me. "And you? How long have you been here for?"

"My memory's still kind of fuzzy, but I'd say a month or so." I scratched my head as I struggled to recall what I'd been doing for the past few weeks. I'd come here from the Shrine, and before that, I'd been at the Mansion. But was that all?

"I can't remember what I was doing before I came here," I thought aloud.

"I figured as much. You look lost. Yet," she added, "your spirit has not betrayed you. After all, you are here, are you not? Lesser figures would have been driven to madness, or even to death. But you want to find answers, even if it's the last thing you do."

"That's the problem. I don't know if I want to go home, because I can't remember where home is. Or was. For all intents and purposes, this is my home for now, and I intend on finding out as much as I can about it."

"A good mentality to have. Curiosity breeds motivation; motivation breeds energy. We all live on curiosity. Which, partly, is what led me here."

The lemongrass smell started to grow in intensity. It was so strong, in fact, that my head was starting to pound. I brought a hand to my head, and Marisa, noticing my discomfort, rushed over to me.

"What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. "Lie down. I'll get you some water."

I obliged, reaching to open the window as I did so. Somehow, I knew it wasn't the lemongrass that was causing me pain, and my fears were confirmed the moment the window swung open, and something from inside my head burst into a million infinitesimal pieces.

At once, it was as if the ground had opened below me, and I was hanging onto an errant branch sticking out from the cliff overlooking the gaping abyss below. In my delirium, I began to flail wildly, knocking myself off the couch and landing painfully onto the wooden floor. The impact brought my mind to think I had been dislodged from the branch to which I clung, and a great fear stabbed into my heart, driving the blood from my limbs, numbing me, until I was completely paralyzed from the chest down.

Marisa dropped the glass of water she had been preparing and came over to me. She grabbed an orange potion from the rack and frantically pulled the locked muscles of my mouth open, pouring the potion into my throat with shaking hands. It was sweet, a smooth, viscous serum that soothed my panic almost immediately and brought me back to my senses.

"What happened?" I managed to mouth, blinking the sweat away from my eyes. I could barely process what had just transpired, but soothing the constriction in my chest and the mad beating of my heart was my priority. I still felt on the verge of a second attack, but such was the potency of Marisa's potion that warmth and feeling was already creeping back into my arms and legs.

Marisa put a hand on my forehead. Something in my head stirred, and escaped out of the front of my temple, as if sucked away into Marisa's palm.

"What was that?" I croaked.

Marisa looked at me. Her eyes had a much harder tone to them now, a fine crescent of yellow lining the ridge of the black.

"You're human, am I correct?"

"As far as I know." I leaned on her shoulder, and was helped back onto the couch. Marisa sat down beside me, hands on her knees, a serious look growing on her young features.

"I think we may have to prolong our stay here a little while longer."

* * *

"That witch!" Marisa seethed, oblivious to the apparent irony of her exclamation. "I'll never know what she's thinking." She paced around the room, hands clutched behind her back, deep in thought. After what I had told her, she clearly had a lot to process.

Following a little prodding on her part, I had told her about my visit to the Mansion library, Patchouli Knowledge's exposure of me to one of her magic tomes, and my subsequent blackout. Patchouli's offer to teach me more about magic had been in the back of my mind for some time, and I relayed this memory to Marisa, at which point she had stood up and begun her soliloquy.

My head was still reeling from whatever it was that had brought my mind to the brink, but a tea brew that Marisa had given me (she had told me it was "coriander, lemongrass, and sun grass"), while coming equipped with a pungent and striking smell, was surprisingly nice on the tongue. I sipped from the pot while I waited for the clouds casting long, hard shadows over my brain to clear.

Marisa stopped abruptly, her shoes squeaking on the stone floor as she came to a halt.

"I would get you out of this forest if I could do so safely. At this point, there's no guarantee you'll be able to make the broom ride without falling off, unless I tie you to a harness." An image of a stork carrying a baby in a pouch aloft in its beak flashes across my eyes. "So, to spare you that, we should get you attuned to the magic around here first. After all, there is a lot of it."

"How will we do that though?" I asked, puzzled.

"One thing you have to learn about magic is that it's a form of energy that is generated as you move and perform actions. Think of it as a windmill that creates energy as the wind whistles through its sails."

"Like a wind turbine?"

"A what?"

Hearing Marisa's confusion made me instinctively reach for my pocket. Somehow, the smartphone was still there, lying undisturbed amidst all that had been going on.

"Anyway. The energy is stored latently inside your mind, in a cross-dimensional container that all humans have. At least, that's what it seems like to me. If all the magic in there were physical in some way, my brain would've been ashes a long time ago."

"Sounds reasonable. So, the magic is just sitting there, dormant?"

"Exactly. Normal humans have no interaction with magic, so their reserves remain untapped for the rest of their lives, from birth, 'til death. However, if a switch is pushed, the container starts filling up. That," Marisa's expression darkened, "is where Patchouli's tome comes in. It pains me to say that Patchouli knows a lot more about magic than I do. I've never studied it in any kind of capacity – it just comes to me, like a reflex, due to my affinity with the magic in this forest that keeps my inventory stocked. But any kind of official form of study is beyond me." Her eyes widened. "You know what? I've got the perfect idea. You fancy a walk?"

"I think so. But to where?"

"To my shop. I keep a lot of magical items there, including things we can use to help you release some of that spare magic. Spell books, magic items, and objects we could turn into target practice."

"Is that the potion shop you run in the Human Village?"

"Oh, no. That's my main job. This shop is in the Forest. It's not the most stable source of income, but I enjoy running it considerably."

Marisa clicked her fingers, and the fire under the boiling flask on the worktable puffed and vanished. We made our way back to the clearing, and went beyond it, entering the forest proper for the first time.

The fog had thinned slightly, and tiny spears of weak sunlight shone through the gaps in the canopy above. The vines curling around the tree trunks took on a jaded emerald hue, and the dew falling off the branches splattered lightly onto the leaf-matted forest floor, sparkling in the transient light, reflecting pinpricks of white and green into my eyes. Even the sight alone was magical, and I took it in with a newfound sense of awe.

A roughly fifteen-minute walk led us to a second clearing, a smaller one than the first, where another cabin resided. It was clear that this was meant to be a shop, as one of the walls had been battered down, leaving a window behind which a shopkeeper might sit. Indeed, as we approached, a sleeping figure lifted her head from the countertop.

Marisa froze.

"Were you looking for me?" she called in a guarded manner.

The figure shook the hair, formed in locks almost as golden and spectacular as Marisa's own, away from her face to reveal a squinting, dark-rimmed, angry pair of brown irises.

"Marisa." My host flinched upon hearing her own name. "You took this, didn't you?" She pointed to a tiny doll, so detailed and well-woven as to almost be a copy of the girl herself, wedged awkwardly between two leather-bound books.

"That… is not my doing. Someone gave it to me."

"Liar." The girl stood up, patting the frilled drape around her shoulders. "It was at my house yesterday. I remember you paying a visit before you left."

"I'm just telling the truth as I know it. The Three Fairies were with me, as you recall. They handed it to me afterwards."

"The Three Fairies wouldn't steal from me. I know their ilk. But you…"

She lifted her hand. The doll between the books suddenly glowed, and rose above the pile of junk inhabiting the back of Marisa's shop, hovering slowly over to her master's side, glaring at Marisa and I menacingly.

"Alice, please. Today's not the day for this. This human needs my help."

Alice Margatroid remained unmoved. "I thought you'd never dare steal from me. It seems I was mistaken." Another doll materialized into the air behind her.

Without warning, a fierce heat erupted from beside me. I turned to see Marisa, orb of flickering fire in hand, giving physical illumination to the anger that now lit up her delicate features.

"I apologize, traveler," she muttered. "We may have to postpone our session for today."

"Take your time, I suppose." I retreated hastily from the battlefield, just as the first fireball was launched.


	5. On the Village

What is magic?

In my old, magically-unattuned world, magic meant card tricks, sleight of hand, and the occasional head being detached from and re-attached to its owner. For sure, some shows could be spectacular, but as humans we could always take solace in the fact that all of it was merely a very elaborate set of illusions that, with the help of numerous props and distracting legerdemain, conjured a feast to be consumed by the eyes, and by very little else. After all, with a little deep thought and some thorough research, most of the propositions that magicians advanced for a living could be debunked or revealed, rendering the magic tricks, well, not so magical.

The same could hardly be said of what unfolded before me as I cowered behind a tree, hoping the next bolt of energy would not hit the area where I was taking shelter, potentially causing the old oaks between which I was taking shelter to fall in a more-than-spectacular fashion, rendering me too dead to observe what would happen next. It was nothing if not the world's greatest light show: every rocket of blinding heat was met with an equally impressive circular spell shield to match, every spear greeted by a shield to block it, every unstoppable force resisted by an equally immovable object. Neither side could best the other – just when one party seemed to gain the upper hand, their opponent brought them back down to size.

The flames searing the air above the forest floor began to catch the tips of the grass, setting the arena ablaze with a fierce, magically-saturated wall of heat and light. So rapid was the spread of the fire that it seemed to chase me as I backed away. The heel of my shoe caught on an errant rock, and I fell painfully on my back, helpless to watch as the roaring embers descended upon my body. Marisa was not so absorbed in her fight that she failed to notice this, but she, too, knew she could do little to help – she could produce magic, but absorbing it back into herself was beyond even the scope of her immense ability. I put a hand to my eyes, shielding them from the blinding glare that heralded my death.

Yet, the expected catharsis never came. The danger... simply ceased to be.

I blinked in surprise. When my eyes reopened, the flames, flying dolls, and errant bolts of light were gone. So sudden was the change in temperature brought by their disappearance that the air was now freezing cold in comparison, and I clutched at my elbows, the hairs on my limbs and my neck standing so straight as to almost pull themselves out of their follicles.

"Who goes there?" called the doll-wielder, evidently irritated by the interruption of her battle.

A plume of long, silver hair, mildly tinted with azure, floated past me and into the clearing. The figure stood between the two combatants, scrutinizing them carefully. Marisa appeared the more relieved of the two to see the newcomer – Alice, as always, was guarded and reticent. I surmised that this was someone who knew the two of them well, and when the figure turned, her dark brown irises fixing upon my hapless self, it felt as if she somehow knew me well, too, even if I couldn't say the same about her.

"I will not tolerate the harming of any of the humans, even if this one is foreign to my village." She approached me and held out her hand. "Are you well?"

"I am, all thanks to you." She had a surprisingly strong grip, and I was pulled to my feet with an unexpected ease.

She smiled gently. "It is nothing." Her outfit, though ornamented with red ribbons from head to toe, was somewhat tame compared to the extravagance in fashion that I had been exposed to upon coming here, her blue-and-white frilled dress complemented only by the dainty, square-topped hat sitting atop her silver locks. She looked plain, to put it bluntly, but, as with all the people who resided here, there was evidently more to her than met the eye.

"It's unusual for you to come so far into the Forest," Marisa piped up.

"I heard about the arrival of a visitor to our realm from Reimu. She told me you would be here." The silver-haired maiden sighed. "I felt the rise in magic coming from deep inside the Forest, so I had to come check. My duty is to all humans, you see. And that extends to the two of you, too."

"You know I abandoned my humanity long ago," Alice retorted.

"Be that as it may, I still feel the need to look out for you regardless. Which, in today's case, was more than justified."

Alice scowled. "Do as you like." She turned and drifted away into the Forest, disappearing into the distant brush, her dolls, with their glow extinguished, in tow.

"I apologize, I did not introduce myself." The silver-haired maiden bowed slightly, and I nodded in reply. "I am Keine Kamishirasawa, but Keine will suffice."

"A pleasure to meet you. I would offer my name, but I have forgotten it."

"I know," she replied, somewhat cryptically. "I think 'traveler' will do for now. You wished to visit the Human Village, yes?"

"I did. I was hoping that seeing other humans might jog my memory somewhat."

"Seeing as you are by far the most recent human from the outside world to come here, you probably would not recognize anyone in the Village. But you are free to stay there, if you would like."

"If you would be so kind. I do plan on talking to a good number of the residents, if at all possible, and that might take a while."

"One slight problem," Marisa interjected. "He has magic in him now, thanks to a certain mansion-dwelling witch, and I'm not sure if his body will be able to make the trip. I know you can go in and out of the Forest in a matter of seconds, Keine, but he can't."

"That will not be a problem. I can come with you two and leach the excess magic out of him whilst you are in flight. We are a couple of hours away from the Human Village, by my estimate, so I should not need to do it often."

"We'll take your offer then." Marisa picked her broom up from where she had left it before she had sparred with Alice, mounted it, and gestured to me. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

I willingly obliged, and we began to ascend, Keine following seamlessly beside us as we picked up speed, Marisa holding onto her hat as it fluttered manically in the wind, until we had reached the velocity at which she wanted to travel. Once in a while, Keine would hold out her hand, and the small tinge of queasiness that crept into my mind would ease, leaving me able, for once, to enjoy the view. The fog had cleared, and now the sunlight was splattered across the treetops, the dew left behind by the fog sparkling in the illumination of the midday sun.

As the Forest began to grow sparse, an irregularly-aligned array of purple and white rooftops peeked out from behind the trees.

"Welcome to the Human Village," Keine said, beaming as the full extent of the residences came into full view. It was a loose collection of old, wooden houses, with people walking up and down the streets, chatting and playing as they went about their business. It was nothing like the world I had come from, for sure, but to see humans not engaged in conflict borne out of sheer boredom was heartwarming, to say the very least. Across the front of the shops was emblazoned the words "Kirisame-ya", and when I pointed that out to Marisa, she chuckled.

"That's owned by my father," she explained. "We don't talk that much. It feels like I don't really know him anymore."

"How come? Also, somehow, the image of you having a father seems strange to me."

"Why?" She sounded both amused and perplexed. "I am human, after all. Though you might not see me as one. Also, as to why I don't really talk to him…" Her voice drifted off, and she became lost in thought. I decided not to press the issue any further.

We made our landing at the edge of the cluster of houses, and I took in my surroundings. The smell of cooking permeated the air, which was to be expected, as we had descended near the back of a tavern. A cook emerged from the back door of the tavern, wiping his hands on his old, patched-up apron. Upon seeing the three of us, he hastily nodded in acknowledgement of our presence before hurrying away.

"Make yourself at home. We do not discriminate, and treat all visitors fairly. Though, if you happened to be a youkai, some of the residents might be more hesitant in coming up to you." Keine brought us into the tavern, greeting every single person who walked by, and receiving equally cheery replies from all of them.

"You seem to be famous here," I commented as Keine asked for a room for me. The owner of the tavern said my room would be "on the house", as thanks for some unknown favor Keine had done for him a while ago.

"I am the head of the only school in this village, so all the children, and thus their parents, know me well." We went upstairs and into my assigned room, a comfortable, cozy chamber populated by a large, fluffy bed and a slender, oaken worktable. Warm sunlight streamed in from the open windows, and from outside, I could hear the quiet chatter of a town that felt completely at peace with itself. A sudden wave of relief washed into me, and I couldn't help but smile as I peered out into the street. Keine and Marisa saw this, and smiled as well.

"If you would like, we can have lunch here in the tavern in an hour or so. I have something I need to take care of, so I leave him in your hands, Marisa."

"Of course." Keine departed, shutting the door with a quiet snap, leaving me and Marisa alone. Marisa came to the window, standing beside me, observing the people below as they milled about.

"It's a nice place," I offered. But Marisa seemed too fixated on something to reply, and as I followed her gaze, I noticed that across the street was the Kirisame-ya, the shop owned by Marisa's father. I almost felt tempted to ask about her relationship with her father again, but Marisa's stare suddenly hardened, and she turned away. Again, I thought it might be wiser to not follow up on it, and I willed my eyes to look elsewhere.

* * *

Lunch was served in a small room at the back of the tavern, where around twenty people were squeezed into half a dozen tables. The front of the room was reserved for visitors who wanted a quick drink in the middle of the day before going back to work, so we had to make do, sitting elbow to elbow on a set of stools that creaked with every slight shift of the body.

A plate of steamed fish, dressed in balsamic vinegar with sprouts tossed around it, was pushed in front of me. I could almost feel my salivary glands aching in anticipation as I pushed a slice into my mouth with as much grace as I could, but once the fresh, sharp saltiness of the fish touched my tongue, I knew I would do nothing but attempt to clean the contents of my plate for the next few minutes. Which, obviously, is what I proceeded to do.

Keine watched me eat with a mixture of cheerfulness and amusement. Even though I'd only just left Reimu's house this morning, it felt like I'd spent a couple of days in the Forest, with nothing but Marisa's mystery potion to sustain me. Perhaps it wasn't so strange – after all, magic was energy, as Marisa had said. And I was, in part thanks to Keine (though I didn't begrudge her at all for helping me out), totally drained of energy. This, of course, brought to mind the manner in which she had stopped the battle this morning, seemingly negating all the raw energy conjured by the two magicians as if, well, by magic.

"You look like you have something to ask." Keine leaned back on her chair and stared at me, her smile unwavering.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"Well, you've stopped eating, for one." Marisa chuckled as she shoved another bite of fish into her mouth. "I recommend eating the sprouts too, by the way. The way they crunch and give that bitter feeling to the fish is great. But go on."

"Well, this might sound rude, but…" I thought about how best to combine my thoughts into a few questions. "First off, not everyone here is human, right?"

"Depends on the time of day. Also depends on what shops are open – I know a certain ice fairy has a taste for the water-flavored shaved ice sold by the shop next door."

"Water-flavored shaved ice?" I scratched my head. "Isn't that just… shaved ice? Without flavoring?"

"Does that really surprise you?" Marisa laughed. "How many ice fairies do you know of that would be dumb enough to buy that stuff?"

The image of a snoring figure, spread-eagle on a straw mattress, popped into my head. I snorted.

"More youkai come here than you might expect. Most of them keep themselves disguised, however. There is a certain… distrust between humans and youkai, as there always has been. Youkai are humanoid, but they are not really human, as you are aware. On the other hand, all youkai can use magic, but many humans cannot. Hence the reluctance of most humans to accept non-humans into the Village, even if they come with only good intentions in mind."

"I think that is just how humans are in general. We are not a very trusting species."

"Well, if you cannot trust even each other, how can you trust things that are totally different from you?" Keine gave a half-shrug. "It is what it is. The mandate of this village is peace, but in order for the humans to feel at peace, some things must be compromised. On occasion, I have had to go to certain lengths to conceal the existence of this place to the rest of Gensokyo, so that even those who know where it is cannot find it."

"That brings me to my second question." I cleared my throat. "You're not actually human, are you?"

"Again, that depends on the time of day." She paused. "As you see me now, I am fully human. At least, this form is, for all intents and purposes, human. When necessary, however, I can turn into a more powerful form."

"Like a werewolf?"

"Close, but not quite. I am a were-hakutaku. My other form is also essentially humanoid, but the hat I have on," she pointed to her head, "has to come off, because horns will sprout from there."

"What kinds of powers do those horns give you?"

"Well, the horns themselves do not contain any power, as you might have guessed. But my specialty is magic involving history – I can consume and conceal events that have occurred, so that they may as well not have occurred at all. In my hakutaku form, I can generate past events, so that the present is altered by the changes I make."

"So that's how you ended the battle between Marisa and Alice so quickly."

"Correct. I simply erased any signs of the battle occurring, up to and including the moment you were almost engulfed by Marisa's rather irresponsible flame-throwing." Keine's smile froze, and she glared at Marisa. Marisa choked slightly on the piece of fish in her mouth, and looked away quickly. "The memories of each individual, however, are not erased, only the physical events themselves. Which is why you still have any recollection of the fight happening."

"That seems like a very powerful ability to have. Is it in any way related to Sakuya Izayoi's?" I repeated a name I had heard during one of Reimu's explanations of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's myriad mysteries.

"It is, well noted. But that is a dangerous name to utter here."

"It is? Why so?"

"Sakuya Izayoi is human on the surface, but she is not one of us. The fact that she works at the Scarlet Devil Mansion says as much. I have heard rumors that they prepare human food there."

"Human food? This is human food, isn't it?" I waved at the half-eaten plate of fish in front of me.

"No, traveler. Humans as food. The Mansion is run by vampires, lest you forget. They also put human blood in their tea."

I unwittingly put a hand to my throat. I remembered having a peculiar cup of tea during my visit to the Mansion. Was the tangy bitterness of the tea due to citrus, or was it due to blood? Somehow, I wasn't as disgusted as I thought I would be, but my discomfort still showed, and Keine caught on to it.

"Have you been to the Mansion?"

I nodded. "Patchouli gave me magical abilities, apparently, or so Marisa says."

"I told you about this earlier, Keine," Marisa added. "It's the reason why you had to come with us in the first place."

"Of course. I was just wondering if he had been in the Mansion proper."

"I have. I met Patchouli Knowledge, who was very kind to me. Before that…"

"Before that?"

I frowned. What did I do before then? I remembered being in the library with Patchouli Knowledge, and reading from the tome of magic. But how did I get there in the first place?

Keine and Marisa looked at each other.

"This is somewhat concerning," Keine said. "You don't remember what you did in the Mansion?"

"I feel like there's a giant gap in my memory somewhere. I remember one distinct event, but nothing prior. The transition into that event has been cut off."

"Your memory may have been wiped," Marisa suggested. "By Remilia, or by some other member of the Mansion. Maybe even Patchouli. In either case, something may have happened that they don't want you to remember."

But what? It all seemed strange. Even as I racked my brains, seeking to plug the newly-found gap in my mind, I wondered what could have been done that would have required my memories of it to be erased. What would Remilia Scarlet, one of the most powerful beings in Gensokyo, want to hide from me?

"What seems stranger," Keine added, as if reading my train my thought, "is that you were not immediately turned into a food supply for those vampires. The Scarlet sisters are childish in nature, and I think they would not let up a good meal."

"They're not that bad," Marisa assured her. "Remilia might be a vampire, but she treats her guests well. As does Sakuya."

"I believe you. You and Reimu know her better than I do, Reimu in particular. I just have my doubts, as you might understand." She coughed loudly. "Anyway, this is not the best table conversation. If you have any questions about the Village or other places within Gensokyo, you are free to ask."

"Then I suppose I have one last question, though, like many questions I've had since I've come here, I'm only really expecting a vague reply." I leaned in. "Is there any way to leave Gensokyo?"

I was expecting Keine to tell me that, once again, it depended on the time of day, or some other uncertain half-answer. Instead, Keine pushed a couple of silver strands out of her eyes, and looked at me as if I had asked the most obvious question in the world.

"Yes, of course. Why?"

* * *

My ears couldn't believe what they'd just heard.

"So… how? It feels like ever since I got here, everyone has been telling me that it's impossible."

"That's because most of the denizens of this world have an incorrect view of the reality they are living in. It is the only world they know, after all – they would have no reason to think in any other way."

"What do you mean by that? This seems plenty real to me."

"Exactly. So, tell me. Why do you not remember how you got here?"

My first assumption upon arriving at the Scarlet Devil Mansion had been that the amount of magic used to transport me here had scrambled my mind, rendering my memories of the journey between the two worlds null and void. But if that were the case, surely, I would still remember the events that occurred up to and including my entrance into the Mansion, no matter how insignificant they were.

Could it be that Remilia Scarlet had sought to erase my memories of certain parts of the Mansion? That wouldn't make much sense, especially since I was allowed access to one of the Mansion's most closely-guarded areas: the Mansion Library. After all, there was little else in Gensokyo, as far as I was aware, that might be as dangerous and game-changing for the realm as the Library's forbidden literature. Additionally, I was hardly important enough that they might seek to ensure I did not remember certain parts of the Mansion. As a previously non-magic human, there was little I could do with the information.

"What you are experiencing now is what all the humans who are here have experienced upon arriving here. They do not remember how they got here, only that they are here. Does that seem like a familiar phenomenon to you?"

My eyes lit up.

"Of course," I replied. "It's as if I were dreaming."

"Correct. When you dream, you never remember how you arrive at the location your mind has taken you to, only that you are there."

"So, you are saying that this is all a dream? That seems unusually convenient to me."

"Not quite, although it is true that that would be very convenient. The body you have right now is your real one – you are not sleeping somewhere else outside of Gensokyo. However, your mind, like the minds of all the humans here, is still bound dimensionally to the outside world. It may be to an object, it may be to an event, it may even be to another human. But as long as whatever ties you to the outside world is not triggered or altered, your body, mind and soul will remain here. That is the architecture of the Great Hakurei Barrier, whose guardian you have met recently."

"So, something in the outside world needs to be done in order to pull me back out?"

"That is correct."

"But I have no recollection of anything that I did in the outside world. How will I ever leave?"

Keine's smile dipped slightly. "I never said it would be easy. Time passes much more slowly here than it does outside. Potentially, you might grow old or even die before the rope tying you to the outside world is pulled."

My shoulders fell. It felt as if all the cautious hope I had been building since I had left the Mansion, my optimism after meeting the friendly Reimu, the somewhat lunatic Cirno, and the sanguine Marisa, had been drained away in an instant. It wasn't as if I had any great desire to leave, yet somehow, hearing Keine speak of my departure from a place that was completely alien to me as something that was completely beyond my control was… disheartening.

"This is why I recommended you stay in the Human Village earlier," Keine continued. "None of the humans here know when they might be made to leave, and you are no exception. So they have all made their lives here, in the Village, waiting either for return or for death."

"Has anyone ever been recalled to the outside world in your time here?"

"People have disappeared, but I suspect that is more down to youkai activity than anything else. So, to my knowledge, I would say no."

"But…" I bit my lip, desperately trying to convince myself that Keine might not have thought of some other method of traversal between the worlds. "What you say is just a theory, isn't it? How do you know that that's the case?"

"Traveler, my ability is the creation and destruction of the history of Gensokyo. I know everything that has transpired here, even if I do not tell most people."

"Then can you tell me about the exact moment that I got here? Or is that beyond even your purview?" I knew that I sounded somewhat petulant, but I needed as much information as I could get. My mind raced as I waited for Keine's answer.

Unfortunately, I had paid the price for my impatience. Keine's entire figure stiffened.

"I am not at ease to tell you, traveler." And before I could utter another word, she was out of the door.

For a moment, Marisa and I sat in silence.

"That's not good," Marisa finally quipped.

"You're right." I sighed. "I was a little desperate. Maybe I should apologize."

"I'm not talking about you pissing Keine off. I probably would've said the same stuff." She stuck a bamboo toothpick in her mouth. "Keine is a schoolteacher, so she's used to people being a little brattier."

"I must've said something really bad then." I puckered my lips and sighed again.

"No, far from it." Marisa brought her head close to me and began to whisper.

"Between you and me… she only ever does that if she doesn't know the answer to a question."

* * *

In the modern human world, there was supposedly no shortage of things to do. I didn't remember much about what I used to do, but I could at least remember recreational activities like shopping, fishing, or even playing the odd video game on a computer. These were things people could do in their spare time - if they had the luxury to do so, at least.

That night, I lay on my bed, tossing the dead smartphone I carried with me at all times into the air. Occasionally, it would slip through my fingers and slam onto the tip of my nose painfully, but that didn't discourage me from continuing to throw it. After all, I was in a world where, when the lights went off – and they went off very early, considering there was little to no light in the streets, so everyone stayed home – there was absolutely nothing to do.

In short, I was struck by one of the most basic of human emotions, one that has been the driver of many a reckless act over the course of human history: boredom. In a twisted kind of way, I could now understand why the magic users of Gensokyo fought with each other so much. There was a giant power vacuum in the realm, and out of the sheer boredom of daily life, the youkai, fairies, and other beings of magic could do naught but attempt to fill it as best as they could. Conflict was generated from the smallest disagreements, and over time, short tempers understandably became the norm. Despite this, many of the more powerful magic users maintained some semblance of courtesy, observing the niceties of guest-greeting, never shirking what they thought their duties entailed, and generally striving to keep the peace. This seemed harder to do than most might think, especially if, as Marisa told me, magic was something that built up over time, bubbling and bubbling inside you, scratching on the walls inside your skull, begging for release. In a sense, magic was both a gift and a curse, especially if you were trapped inside the confines of a realm that, though inexpressibly massive in scale, still felt limited nonetheless.

Which led to another question: where did the realm actually end? Where were its boundaries? I regretted not asking Reimu or Keine whilst I still had the chance, though I knew they would welcome any questions I posed to them. That is, if I ever remembered to ask.

There was a light knock on the door. Marisa came in, carrying her broom, lantern attached and lit.

"I'm returning home, traveler," she said. "Keine will take good care of you – she's not one to throw tantrums for long."

"Thank you." I got out of bed, thinking it would be unbecoming of me to not see her off. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."

"I haven't done anything, really. Just returning a favor for a friend. After all, I did take her kettle."

"I think you should give it back, then. Since the favor is done."

Marisa giggled, her cheery face flushed under the blue moonlight pooling into my room. "She'll have to fight me for it."

"Of course she will." I patted her on the shoulder. Her frame was surprisingly slim under her large dress, and I could feel the thin outline of her collarbone under my fingers. "I hope I'll see you again."

"What do you mean by that?" Marisa blushed, and looked at me shyly.

"Nothing in particular. I just want to know as many people as I can. I might be here for a long time, after all."

"I see. That's true, you might be." She gave a light chuckle, though she sounded more relieved than entertained. "I will check in once I finish making the next batch of potions. Don't get into anything serious while I'm gone."

"There's really not much I can do, if I'll be honest. You still haven't taught me any magic yet."

"I'm sorry about that, I know I was caught up in fighting Alice. I'll give you a lesson once I come back. Deal?"

"It's a promise." Marisa nodded and smiled again, before turning and disappearing down the corridor.

I returned to my bed, plopping on the coarse, but still soft, cotton mattress. Before I knew it, I had passed in and out of the world of slumber, and my eyes opened to the low hum of chatter on the streets outside once again. I decided it would be best if I went and took my first look at life in this town, and so, after a quick dip in the tavern's small bath and a change into the clothes that the tavern had generously provided me – a loosely-flowing yukata that freed me from the jacket, shirt and trousers that I had been wearing all this time, as well as a pair of blocky bamboo sandals to ease my boots-bound feet – I took my first steps into the village proper.

The rows of houses and shops were not very neatly aligned, but they were close enough together that any space not taken up by them automatically became the streets through which people walked. The ground was the same dirt and soil that carpeted the rest of Gensokyo, but it had been packed into a dense, almost tar-like flooring by the many sandals and shoes that stepped up and down these roads, making my walk a much more comfortable one than expected. The houses themselves were wood and bamboo, the walls mostly painted white or left in their natural coloring, while the rooftops were painted a light hue of mauve, though where the painters obtained such a strange color from, I could only guess.

At the center of one of the crossroads stood a giant statue, a cubical rock monolith with the carved features of a resplendent dragon coiled around its topmost corners. Though its scales and claws were made of the same rock that formed the rest of the statue's base, its eyes were instead made from some kind of gem that, reflecting the clear sky's color, shone a vibrant azure. I stopped to admire the handiwork of the sculpture, and made ready to walk down the street to the left, when I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

I turned to find a bright-eyed young girl with short, puffy brown hair looking up at me. She wore a loose yellow apron bearing a name, which I assumed to be hers, and clutched a hardcover book in her arms. As I took in her petite yet confident-looking demeanor, she smiled.

"You're Miss Motoori?" I asked, motioning towards the name stitched onto her apron.

"Kosuzu Motoori, at your service." She beamed. "Welcome to our village. I hope you'll find it to your liking."

"I'm already impressed." I waved at the dragon statue behind me. "I feel like I'll have a lot to see and do in the coming weeks."

"That's good to hear. However, you will need money if you want to live here permanently. I understand Keine Kamishirasawa is helping to pay for your boarding right now, but eventually you'd like to earn your own bread, right?"

"Although I do have my wallet with me, I'm not sure the currency I have would be accepted here. So, you're not wrong. What kind of work can I do?"

"As it happens, our book rental store has a vacancy – one of our workers had to leave in order to take care of some family matters. It doesn't entail much, and you will have time to walk around if the shop isn't busy. What do you think?"

It seemed like as good an offer as I could get. I wasn't too fond of menial labor, so helping to run a book renter sounded like the perfect occupation for me, especially since I would be in close contact with some of the literature of this world. "If you'll take me, then I'll gladly accept."

I didn't know it was possible for a smile as bright as hers to grow even brighter, but it did. "Come with me then. I'll tell my parents that you're here."

We soon found ourselves at the book rental, only a couple of blocks away from the dragon statue, with had the word "Suzunaan" printed on a sign nailed to the front of the shop. I pushed past the door curtain and was immediately greeted by thick, musty air, and the smell of old leather and dry wood. The books were stacked neatly across a variety of shelves pushed against the walls, and the center of the shop was where the shopkeeper sat, a small wooden chair tucked into a worktable not dissimilar to the one in my room. But what interested me the most was what was stationed on top of the table. It was a gramophone, a relic of an era not too far back from my own. I put a hand on the smartphone in my pocket – patting it had become something of a ritual for me, and now that I had set eyes on a second object from the outside world, it only seemed appropriate to acknowledge the first.

Kosuzu went upstairs to tell her parents that she had found a new worker, and I was left alone in the shop for all of five seconds. The door curtain rustled behind me, and yet another girl in a frilly dress, with an ochre vest draped over her shoulders and a laced obi on her waist, entered.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "You're the new face."

"I am indeed. What's your name?"

Before she had a chance to reply, Kosuzu had come rushing down the stairs, her face lighting up upon seeing the visitor.

"Akyuu! You're back!"

"Sure am. I had a few things to take care of."

"You mean about the Tupai?"

"What, Reimu's pet? I've already handed it over to the Scarlets. They'll take care of it."

"That's good. Oh! I forgot to introduce you, traveler. This is Akyuu of the Hieda family, Hieda no Akyuu."

"Akyuu is fine. I don't suppose you have a name?"

"We all have names, but I've forgotten mine." I smiled apologetically.

"Akyuu's a very good author," Kosuzu said with a hint of pride. "She's helping write the Gensokyo Chronicles, which is basically an encyclopedia about Gensokyo. Akyuu's family have been writing the Chronicles for generations. If you like, I can lend you some of the earlier volumes of the book later."

"That would be tremendously helpful. I'll also look forward to reading your contribution to the Chronicles, Akyuu. When you're done with them, at least."

"It would be my pleasure. Kosuzu, I need your help with something. Could you come with me for a moment?"

"Sure. Traveler, you watch the shop, okay? I'll be back soon."

Kosuzu and Akyuu left, and I took my seat in the center of the store. I could see the feet of people passing by under the hem of the door curtain, but no one seemed interested enough to approach or enter. Which suited me just fine – I was content to simply explore the repertoire of texts that this shop held.

I picked at random from one of the book piles, and flipped it open, scanning the pages. Though the language of the book was unfamiliar to me, I could tell from the many pictures supplied that it was a book on the botany of Gensokyo. I put the book down and picked up another one.

To my great surprise, this book was written in Japanese. Modern Japanese, not the more archaic version I had become used to seeing in Gensokyo. What was more, it was a book on recent history – it described the Lost Decade of the 1990s, when Japan fell into a years-long recession following the bursting of the asset bubble in 1991. I glanced at the front and back covers, and ran a finger on the binding. It was a very new book, the plastic on the covers unblemished and glimmering in the reflection of the bright yellow ground outside.

Just how much of the outside world made it into Gensokyo? How often did they pass through the Barrier? And were objects, like humans, tied to the outside world, and somehow destined to return? Or would they remain here forever? My collection of questions that might remain unanswered grew ever larger, to the point that I felt the need to deem some of them unnecessary, in order to prevent my mind from turning too quickly, spun round and round endlessly by my insatiable curiosity. I knew then that I would not rest until the inner workings of the Barrier separating our worlds became apparent to me. And once I figured that out, I would begin to set about finding a way to leave, or meet my demise in the process, whether that came tomorrow, in a year, or in the decades to follow.


	6. On the Temple

It had been a week since I had arrived at the Village. I had gradually grown accustomed to my way of life there, getting to know many of the other humans who worked nearby, like the kindly tofu shop owner who would occasionally stop by to rent one of the older examples of classical literature the store had on display, handing me a pack of dried tofu as thanks before leaving, or the carpenters from across the street who sometimes sat at the porch in front of the shop, chatting to Kosuzu and drinking as they sought brief respite from the sun beating down upon their backs. Seasons in Gensokyo worked as they did in the outside world, and as it was now summer, yukatas and longer-sleeved clothing never stayed on for very long. I came to learn that the name of the store, Suzunaan, meant "bell hermitage", and though its origins were unknown to Kosuzu, I noted that her name and the name of the store shared a common feature, namely "suzu", or the word for "bell" in Japanese.

I tried as best as I could to survey my fellow humans on how long they had been here and how they became used to life in Gensokyo, but all of them reported the same thing: that they had simply found themselves here, with no recollection on how they had come here in the first place, and no memories of their previous lives in the outside world. They were either plucked from whatever danger they were found in by Keine or some other magical human, or they simply awoke one day in a house or tavern in the Village, and, with no other alternative available to them, stayed and settled in. There were no people from my time, however – the majority of them were from some age centuries past, even if they appeared to be around the same age as I was. From this, I surmised that the timeline of the outside world was indeed completely separate from that of Gensokyo, as there was evidently little to no correlation between how time here and time outside operated, even if the sun still did its rounds every 24 hours and the seasons changed every few months, like we all knew them to do.

A week into my tenure at the store, a completely new face brushed past the door curtains and entered. It was early in the afternoon, and I was, as usual, deeply engrossed in a randomly chosen piece of literature. Suzunaan dealt mainly in books that had been sucked in from the outside world, and I was keen to witness for myself the full breadth of what the store had to offer. A hard rap on the table, however, jolted me back to my senses.

"I apologize," I said quickly, putting the book down and standing to greet the newcomer. "How can I help?"

"May I ask if Kosuzu is in?" Facing me was a pretty young girl in a light brown robe, a checkered scarf wrapped snugly around her neck, with cropped magenta hair covered by a sprawling green hat, in turn ornamented by a couple of large bells. The bells jangled loudly as she moved – it was a surprise that I had not heard her come in. A pair of horn-rimmed half-spectacles framing her two large eyes completed the picture, of which the eyes were in turn topped by two soft, widely-spread lashes.

"Kosuzu went to run an errand. You're welcome to wait for her here."

"Then I shall do so." She took a seat in the corner of the store near the entrance, leaning nonchalantly on the wall as she gazed at me. "You must be the new human."

"New human?" I took a second look at her. What she said seemed to insinuate that she was not human herself, though she looked plenty human to me. Looks, as always, could be very deceiving.

"You arrived here a week ago. You are the newest human here," she repeated matter-of-factly.

"I… haven't seen you before. I was surprised."

"No one here has seen me before," she replied enigmatically. But before I could ask for clarification, Kosuzu made her return.

"Mamizou!" she exclaimed upon seeing the bespectacled maiden.

"Welcome back, Kosuzu. I hope you've been well."

"I have. Are you looking for books on youkai again?"

"Not this time, actually." Mamizou stood up. "The head of the Temple would like a favor."

"Is there a special kind of book she needs?"

"Special kinds in plural, you might say. She is planning a lesson on rituals of the dharma based on the teachings of the outside world, so she will be needing all the volumes of the Dharmasastra that you have, as well as some Buddhist hymn journals for the students to follow. Any versions will suffice."

Kosuzu thought for a moment. "If you really want everything we have, that might add up to more than sixty tomes."

"It is no matter. I have brought sufficient money."

"That's not the problem, I could lend them to you for free if you wanted. I just worry about how you're going to carry them."

"Then could you come with me? You are correct in that I may need an extra pair of hands."

"What if the traveler came with you? I'm not really that strong." Kosuzu winked at me playfully. "You don't mind, right?"

"Of course not. I can carry a few dozen books. Though, it depends where we're headed."

"It might be a long walk, so I hope you have readied yourself for it." Mamizou brushed the dust off her robe. "How much will it be? I would like to pay you nevertheless."

"Half price for you, if you insist on paying. That'll be a hundred copper pieces." Kosuzu immediately set about looking for the books that Mamizou needed. As she busied herself, Mamizou rummaged into her pockets and pulled out a sizeable bag of copper pieces, placing it down with a satisfyingly loud thud.

Kosuzu plopped the last of the books onto the tall pile of books that had collected on the worktable. "That should be all. I don't think I'm missing any."

"I trust in your abilities." Mamizou brandished two large wool sacks and handed one of them to me. She and I began filling the sacks, and soon they were full to the brim with tomes. I soon found that they were somewhat heavier than they looked – however, I quickly got used to the weight. Though Mamizou appeared to picked the other one up with ease, I could see that her arm was shaking.

"Shall we get going?"

Mamizou winced slightly, and nodded.

As we left the shop to Kosuzu's cheery waving, I said, "You might find it easier if you put it over your shoulder."

"Worry not, human. It will be easier for me once we put some distance between us and the village."

"How so?"

She did not utter another word until we were out of the village borders, and into the mess of trees and shrubs that fenced the Village off from the rest of Gensokyo. Then, the moment the Village vanished between the thicket behind us, Mamizou transformed.

Although I wasn't surprised that she wasn't actually human, I was nonetheless taken aback by her sudden change. A giant, fluffy mass emerged from underneath her robe, a thick, furry tail that was striped white and dark brown. The tail grew until it was as long as Mamizou was tall, curling around itself and slapping the grass, reveling in its newfound freedom. A pair of equally fuzzy black ears sprouted from under her heat, peeking out from under the hem and twitching expectantly, taking in the high-pitched hum of the whistling wind.

Mamizou herself seemed unfazed by the newly-added weight of her tail, and in fact seemed stronger for it: as I watched, she whirled the bag of books around her elbow as if it were a toy. The bag now felt even heavier on my shoulder, and Mamizou knew it as she looked back at me.

"Heavier than it looks, is it not?" she said, poking my bag with her tail.

"I'm fine," I replied curtly. She laughed, and we moved on.

The walk, though it came with a soothing breeze and a brief break on the banks of a stream for water, still took the better part of two or three hours. Just as I thought my shoulder bones might dislocate, we abruptly came to a set of wide marble stairs. In all fairness, I had been looking at the ground, focusing all my energy on keeping the bag of books on my shoulder, so I did not see the true scale of the impressive structure that now greeted us.

The roof of the building was studded with blue, blade-like eaves, jutting upwards, pointing towards the clouds. The entrance's overhang was topped by a stark white gable, and its apex was crowned by jade ridges that sloped delicately onto the rakes. Rows of wooden brackets atop the pillars twined and twisted around each other, pushing against the underbelly of the roof. In a way, the whole structure reminded me of a great crane perched upon a series of columns, the passerine's claws grasping its stand firmly as it stretched its magnificent wings out towards the sky, peering down at us as we made our way up the steps. An array of red flags, fluttering into the afternoon breeze, lined the sides of the steps, and a pair of large banners were held aloft by the two stanchions closest to the stairs - one of them proudly bore the words, "Myouren Temple".

As we reached the top of the steps, a figure swept out from the entrance, holding a circular bamboo hat against her head as she smiled at us. She had long, flowing orchid-colored hair that shifted into a bright orange, yellowing at the tips. A necklace of massive jade beads fell around her neck and shoulders, and the crisscrossing laces that pulled the sides of her open dress together were mirrored on top of the tongue of her tall black boots.

"We have returned," called Mamizou, in a well-concerted effort to state the obvious.

"I can see that." She took the bamboo hat off her head and bowed in greeting. "Welcome back, Mamizou Futatsuiwa. And you must be the traveler."

"'The traveler'?" I laughed at the moniker, though in truth, I was already growing used to being called by that name. "I am indeed a traveler. A human like any other."

"Be that as it may, you are already one of the best-traveled of the non-magical humans in the realm. Reimu has told me about you. She seems unexpectedly enthusiastic about you," she added, chuckling as she put a hand to her mouth.

"I imagine a shrine maiden can only have so much excitement in her life. Also, may I have your name?"

"I am Byakuren Hijiri - you may refer to me as Byakuren. I bid you welcome to the Myouren Temple. I am still somewhat human yet, so I hope you feel you are in good company here. We do have many youkai residents, after all."

"I have no fear of the youkai," I assured her.

"Good, you are one of the rare few humans who have shed their fear of them. Human and youkai must live together in peace here. That is the direction we must take, the path we must walk, if we are to achieve the cessation of pain and the goal of nirvana."

"You are Buddhist?"

"In a way, though I have realized that some tenets of the philosophy must be changed if we are to find peace. Nevertheless, I still perform my duties as a teacher of the faith. That is part of why you are here – I have been putting off the lessons that I regularly give, in order to assist in the capture of a troublesome youkai. I would have liked a more peaceful ending to that episode, but it was not to be." She suddenly appeared troubled, and looked away briefly. Then, her smile returned. "It is no matter. Come, traveler, I will show you where to put the books, then you are free to leave or stay for a while, whichever you please."

"I would like to stay for a cup of tea, if you have any." I wiped a trailing bead of sweat from my cheek.

"We have plenty of tea. Too much tea, in fact. I would even give you some tea leaves to take home, if you so desire."

"Then I will gladly accept your offer." I thus followed Mamizou and Byakuren into the cool darkness of the Temple's interior.

* * *

The guest room of the Temple was a simple, hollow expanse carved out of the rows of pillars and columns that propped the roof of the building up. It was a large chamber, but what furniture was present was few and far between: near the walls were various drawers upon which were placed scattered piles of hymns, incense sticks and dormant spell cards, whilst in the center was a table surrounded on all four sides by benches, one of which I now sat on. I took a sip of the tea, endeavoring not to make too loud of a noise – it was the middle of the afternoon, and the only sounds penetrating the still air were the faint chirps of cicadas inhabiting the trees that dotted the landscape around the base of the Temple. The tea was cool, minty and sweet, perhaps a little too sweet for my tastes, but nevertheless still a welcome refreshment in the dry heat of midsummer. It carried an undercurrent of spiciness that left my taste buds confused, but I cared little for such minor details provided my thirst was being quenched.

"The books have been distributed in the classroom, Byakuren," Mamizou said as she entered the guest room.

"Thank you, Mamizou," replied Byakuren, who sat opposite me. "I appreciate your help."

"I will look for Nue. She wanted to join us for dinner, did she not?"

"You are right, though dinner is still a few hours away. I think you will find Nue at the Mausoleum."

"Then I will go there. I will bring her back when the sun has set."

"Take your time." Byakuren waved, and Mamizou bowed in reply before departing the room. "Speaking of which, traveler, would you like to stay for dinner? We may have extras, depending on how many youkai will be back from their errands."

"I would hate to impose. Plus, I think Kosuzu might worry."

"Worry not, Kosuzu knows that I invite people over to dinner all the time. Being a committed user of magic, I do not require food for sustenance, but I still like to hold gatherings. Partly so I can recruit potential new students for my classes." Byakuren winked at me. "I hope you will join us tonight."

"If that's the case, then I will again accept your offer with grace."

"Excellent. Now, we should find some way of whittling the hours before dinner away. Is there anything in particular you would like to ask me?"

"I think so. You mentioned that you don't need food for sustenance? As in, you don't actually need to eat to survive?"

"Yes, I suppose that may have been confusing. I am a magician, and thus I am sustained by magic, and magic alone. The nutrients I require are conjured automatically as I utilize magic, though if I am not careful, I may be weakened considerably if I do not put enough thought into the process of conversion. It is the price I pay for abandoning that key facet of my humanity."

"Why did you become a magician? Was it in order to survive in Gensokyo?"

"In a way, but not simply for survival." Byakuren's features began to soften. "I have seen much during my time alive, traveler, and it is thanks to the magic that I have embraced that I am here to talk with you today. Advanced magic has the power not only to sustain, but to maintain, particularly with regards to the aging of the body. I may look in the prime of my youth, but in truth my age now reaches well into the hundreds, if not the thousands. I have not felt the need to keep count."

"Was there something in particular that drove you to try and become, well, immortal?"

"There was. I had a person very dear to me, whose name is lent to the Temple you are currently sitting inside. Myouren Hijiri was his name."

"Your brother?"

Byakuren nodded. "He was the one who taught me how to use magic. But the gods called, and he was cruelly snatched away, despite our best efforts to pull him back. I knew that in order to avoid the same fate, I would need to walk a different path from him, and so when I did find the answer, I was no longer myself, nor could I consider my material self human any more."

"Yet you still follow a human religion."

"My body may not be human any longer, but my spirit and my faith, tempered by the tribulations that I have faced, have guarded my humanity well. Even as my fellow humans cast me aside, and I took my place amongst the demons that humanity thought I had become, I knew that no rejection of my body could take away the fact that I had been born human, and as long as my mind remained sane, I could regularly remind myself of that."

I took in the slender, willowy figure that faced me as she continued to tell me of her history. Though it was a story that was punctured frequently by moments of great tragedy, her strength of will and keenness of mind had ensured that she never lost sight of herself or the reasons why she did what she did. I could now look upon her with a renewed, deeply-engraved sense of respect, one that I could never have felt for any of the other people that I had met thus far, even if they were more powerful or intelligent than Byakuren. I understood now why she chose to establish this temple as a safe haven for youkai – she felt that she might also be one of them, even if she still considered herself to be human. Though she had been an exterminator of youkai in her early days, she had come to honor them as beings who, too, could think and feel as we humans did, and shared the ground upon which we stood.

"The price for my transgressions regarding my covert defense and protection of the youkai was my banishment into a realm where only the strongest of youkai lived, called the Makai. I spent many years there, locked under an immensely strong seal, doomed never to return. It was a prison of the body, mind and soul, and an incarceration that I could not have survived without the magic that I had learned. I was punished for the crime of compassion." Though her words contained no bitterness, I could sense the faint sorrow and despair in her tone of voice as she spoke. "Ultimately, I was rescued by my disciples, a group of youkai whom I had protected whilst still free. They went to great lengths to save me, and they were granted a great deal of assistance by Reimu Hakurei, who also broke the seal that contained me."

That was an unexpected turn to the story. "I'm surprised to hear this about Reimu. She hadn't told me about that."

"Reimu is an exceedingly humble character. I owe her my life, but she still insists on giving me favors. I can only speak favorably of her, as well as the many youkai who came to my aid. Even if we did have a brief argument following my emancipation, and we ended up fighting for a little while."

"Fighting seems to be as normal as having a conversation for the magic users who live here. That's something I still have to get used to."

Byakuren laughed upon hearing my observation. "You are not wrong. Magic must be used regularly, or it will break free from the shell of its own accord. It is all around us, and it is within us. It is a boon in the right hands, a bane in the wrong ones."

We continued to make small talk, Byakuren telling me about the establishment of the Myouren Temple and how she had begun to accept all manner of youkai into her care, as well as a few humans who were willing to reside alongside youkai for the sake of following her teachings and living a life of asceticism. In turn, I told her about my travels, and the conundrum I had regarding the loss of my memories.

"It would not surprise me if Remilia Scarlet had your memory wiped," Byakuren said. "I am not familiar with the residents of the Mansion, but I know that it holds a great many secrets, some of which are probably known only to Remilia, as the head of the household."

"I remember meeting Patchouli Knowledge, and I was informed that Remilia Scarlet was the one who saved me, but I remember nothing about actually being helped. That's also something that concerns me."

"If your memories regarding those events are blurred but not completely erased, then there may be some way of restoring them. I can help you in that regard, but it might require you to stay here at the Temple for a week while we perform the necessary rites. You need not worry about your work at the bookstore – I will ask Mamizou to inform Kosuzu Motoori of your whereabouts."

"If you are willing to go that far to help me, then I can hardly refuse. I only wish there were some way for me to return the favor."

"Your gratitude is in itself a reward." Byakuren suddenly frowned. "Speaking of which, it is almost nightfall. Time really does fly when you are enjoying yourself with a companion."

I looked towards the entrance. The sky outside was now a deep purple, with a smattering of orange and red lighting up the clouds nearest to the horizon, just above the treetops.

"Mamizou is late. She should have found Nue Houjuu by now – Nue told me she would be at the Mausoleum."

"The Mausoleum?" I didn't recall seeing any structure in the vicinity other than the Myouren Temple.

"It is a structure that lies underneath the Temple. You see, the true form of this temple is actually a flying ship, one that I built for a youkai of the seas. In return, she used the ship to transport the group who came to free me from Makai. I prefer to keep the ship in the form of a temple, but it can be transformed back into its ship form should the need arise."

"A flying ship? I would never have guessed."

"That is the nature of the palanquin, for which the ship is named. Without its poles, a palanquin looks like a small temple, does it not?"

"You aren't wrong. So, how does one get to the Mausoleum?"

"Through the cemetery." She paused. "I think it would be best if you came with me. I have not introduced you to the other youkai yet, and I do not know how they might react to seeing such a new face within the temple grounds. You would be safer if you accompanied me to the Mausoleum."

A gust of wind blew into the guest room, raising a chill that made the hairs on my neck stand on end. The last vestiges of sunlight vanished under the blanket of night, and the world outside the lamplit guest room turned pitch black. I didn't know whether I would prefer to be alone in the light or with company in the darkness, but if there was anyone I could put my wholehearted trust in at the moment, it would be Byakuren Hijiri.

"Alright then," I said. "Lead the way."

* * *

Unlike during most nights in Gensokyo, the moon, surrounded by its distantly-watching cohort of stars, was not present to guide the way. Instead, under the great quilt of clouds that had moved in over the Myouren Temple, the only illumination present came from the dim flickering of the candlelit front lobby behind us, though it was quickly engulfed by fog, and the lantern that Byakuren held in her hand, swinging quietly as we walked, lighting up the dark green as we trailed off the main road and into the grass. The night was unexpectedly quiet, save for the barely audible shuffling of my shoes and Byakuren's sandals on the ground – even the wind, usually so ubiquitous and brash in its shuttling of Gensokyo's nighttime air, had deserted us behind the barrier of trees enclosing the Temple grounds.

After several minutes, the lantern revealed a low stone rampart in a state of considerable disrepair, a wall that now barely served its original purpose as it had crumbled and collapsed in many places. Byakuren and I hopped over one of the holes created by the wall's dilapidation, the magician doing so with far more grace than my near-tumbling over the scattered stones on the floor, and we found ourselves in what could only be described as a graveyard. Rows upon rows of tombstones were lined up as far as the lantern would allow us to see. The silhouettes of those markers of death formed both the foreground and backdrop of the landscape, with only a few trees, the pink-petaled flowers sprouting on their branches, and the deathly-still grass matting the cemetery floor carrying the only signs of life in the vicinity.

Byakuren lifted her lantern, bringing the group of branches above us into view. The petals appeared almost sickly in the yellow glow of the candle inside the lantern, and the branches that held them were thin and malnourished, but that wasn't what had attracted her attention. Instead, she was looking farther up, where a small cone-like object was lodged in between the branches, seemingly pointing downwards at us. To my great alarm, the object abruptly began to shake and expand into a circular form, making its way downwards at an accelerating pace.

Byakuren pulled a slip of meticulously-painted paper from her pocket and threw it into the air. She knuckled her index and middle fingers and jabbed at the paper as it flew towards the mystery object. At once, as the paper disintegrated, the entire tree exploded into a green flame, causing the object to suddenly screech and bounce off the tree trunk, landing in a deformed and quivering lump on the ground in front of us.

"I do not have time to play with you today, Kogasa Tatara," Byakuren said to the lump, in the manner of a stern teacher lecturing an unruly student.

The lump was lifted up, and a small, petite girl, who looked almost at the point of tears, emerged from under it. She had curly, turquoise hair that matched the color of one of her eyes, its opposing number being a shade of dark crimson. The vest she wore was also turquoise, as was the hue of the rest of her dress. Clearly, she had some sense of fashion, even if she apparently did not enjoy any other kind of common sense.

Byakuren clapped her hands together, and the flame that had coated the tree was immediately extinguished.

"That hurt, Byakuren!" exclaimed the girl. She picked up the still-trembling mass from the ground, and pulled on a stick protruding from it. As the mass coiled around the stick, I realized that what she held in her hands was actually a purple umbrella, with a strange, red tongue-like feature trailing from its folded canopy.

"I have a visitor with me today. He is a non-magical human, so I would suggest you save the games for later."

"I'm not playing! You have any idea how hungry I am?" Kogasa stamped her foot on the floor in frustration. "Why won't you let anyone get scared by me? You even had to tell the youkai at the Temple to look out for me!"

"My priority is the wellbeing of the residents of the Temple. Unless you choose to join us, I will continue to ensure that as little people fall prey to your antics as possible."

"That's why I won't join you!" Kogasa pointed at Byakuren. "You think I'm just a nuisance! Anyone who doesn't take me seriously doesn't deserve my attention! Hmph!"

"That is why you will always fail to scare people. You are petulant, and hence predictable."

I felt somewhat sorry for the little youkai now, so I decided to help her out.

"You really got me there, Kogasa. I was scared for a bit."

Kogasa's eyes widened, and she looked at me expectantly. "You were?"

"For sure! You didn't even make a sound when you were coming down. If Byakuren hadn't been here, I'd already have run away long ago."

A sparkle, visible even in the dark of the night, appeared in her mismatched irises.

"Hurray!" she cheered, and giggled. "I'm so happy I scared you, mister. It's been so long since someone said that to me. I feel full already. What's your name?"

"I don't remember. You can just call me 'the traveler', I suppose."

"What are you and Byakuren doing so late out, mister traveler?"

"We are looking for one of my associates," Byakuren cut in. "Would you happen to have seen anyone here?"

"Sure did. I saw a girl in glasses walk by a couple hours ago, but she was way too fast for me to scare."

"That must have been Mamizou. Have you not seen anyone else?"

"Nope. That's all that's been happening." Kogasa yawned. "I'm so bored. Wanna come hide with me, traveler?"

"Again, Kogasa, he is with me," Byakuren said stiffly.

"Oh well. I guess I'll come with you then." Kogasa reopened her umbrella, letting the pattern emblazoned on it come into full view. It was the face of a one-eyed monster, its glaring iris a bright scarlet, the same color as its jagged mouth and protruding tongue. A black rubbed ferrule capping the umbrella served as the eyebrow, wiggling and twisting as Kogasa threw the umbrella's canopy wide open.

"We'd hate to trouble you, Kogasa," I said hurriedly. It seemed odd that a youkai like her would want to follow a human, but then again, she was probably lonely, especially given that probably next to no one ever visited the cemetery. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to take my words the way I meant, and her smile instantly vanished, to be replaced by a frame of desperate sadness.

"I knew it," she muttered forlornly. "No one ever wants me to be with them. I'm totally worthless as a youkai, or even as a living being."

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean? Everyone tells me the same thing, that I'm annoying to be around, or that I should go do something else. But what else can I do? Scaring people is all I'm good for, and I'm not even good at that!" She once again looked on the brink of breaking down and sobbing.

Byakuren sighed.

"You know what, Kogasa," she said as Kogasa's round eyes watered. "You are right. You are as worthless as you think you are."

"Byakuren! Please don't say that."

But just as Kogasa's petite features began to scrunch up, Byakuren continued.

"But that is why you should stop thinking that your life has no meaning, or that your only purpose in life is to shock others. Because if you believe something for long enough, it will become your reality."

I looked at Byakuren. She no longer looked frustrated or annoyed. Somehow, in the fading glow of the lantern, I could see that she was speaking from her many centuries of experience, her many years of facing a fate she sought to defy for as long as she possibly could.

Kogasa stopped pushing the tears from the sides of her eyes and looked up. Byakuren placed a hand on her head and drew her into her arms.

"Instead, believe that you can do something for yourself. Believe that you can make your own purpose, your own reason for living. Define your life by what you can do, not what you have done. That way, you can be at peace with yourself."

Kogasa sobbed for a few seconds into Byakuren's robe, Byakuren patiently patting her head as she poured out the last of her sorrow. When Kogasa drew her head away from Byakuren's embrace, her face was not one of despair, but one of a newfound defiance.

"Will you let me come to the Temple with you, Miss Hijiri?" she said, hiccupping quietly.

"Of course, but only if you promise to stop scaring people."

"But then how will I feed myself? I need to eat spirit energy to survive!"

"You need to practice being hungry. That is part of our way of life, the practice of austerity and self-denial."

"I don't think I'm ready for that right now." Kogasa twiddled her fingers shyly. "But could I… come to the Temple later?"

"The Myouren Temple is open to any person, at any time." Byakuren smiled. "For now, though, we should get going."

"Do you still want to come with us, for now?" I asked.

Kogasa nodded. "I'd have nothing to do otherwise. But where are you two going?"

"To the Great Mausoleum," Byakuren replied. "That is where I believe Mamizou should be."

Kogasa shivered. "I don't like that place. It's too big, and it's creepy at night."

"That seems little different from this cemetery, to be honest," I commented.

"I guess you're not wrong." Thus, Byakuren and I resumed our walk, with our cute new follower in tow.

* * *

As the fog closed in on our position, thickening and filling the air surrounding us until the lantern shone on naught but a dark gray mass around our heads, the floor beneath us began to slope gently downwards, carving a path of descent into the grass. The ground around us rose up and eased away, slowly leading us towards a recess that, strangely, seemed untouched by the dreary atmosphere of the rest of the cemetery – a carpet of red and purple flowers unfurled at our feet, and the harsh brushing of our soles against the grass abruptly became quiet, muffled by the parting of the petals as they bore our weight. The flowerbed seemed to catch whatever light was available to it, and it glowed with the quietest and darkest of hues, cutting through the gaps in the mist, guiding us ahead.

After a while, the flowers began to give way to small pebbles, sparse at first, but slowly collecting together closer and closer, until our footsteps were masked by the loud smacks of the little rocks as they were dislodged from their slumber, grumbling as they tumbled away. If our intent had been to make our approach as stealthily as possible, any notion of that was soon thrown out of the window.

By now, the floor had curved downwards sufficiently that our heads soon descended below ground level, and the very moment we were technically "underground", a large pair of wooden doors emerged from the fog. On them were the portraits of two rather stern-looking men, both swathed in long, meticulously-decorated robes, complemented by two similarly long, willowy black beards. They stared into the distance, guarding the entrance to what I surmised must be the Great Mausoleum. Their portraits were mirrored on either side of the door, separated by two tall banners that bore messages of welcome, though the tone of those messages was more cautionary than genial, as one might expect in a place such as this.

We came up to the door, and Byakuren rapped sharply on it. "Mamizou?" she called.

There was no response, but a barely audible rumble could be heard from the other side. Curious, I put my head to the door, and the rumble came again, this time louder in the canal of my ear. It sounded almost like water surging against the side of the door, and as Byakuren, motioning for me to step back, pushed the doors open, I saw why.

The outside of the structure, an elegantly but simply decorated doorway sculpted on the side of a small hole, made the Mausoleum out to be a little chamber dug out in the ground, hastily assembled, sealed, and left to house whatever it was meant to house. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The slope continued past the doorway, but, inexplicably, at the base of the slope, waves of water pushed up against the stones, seeping between the cracks, creeping upwards until they stopped at our toes, before retreating into the darkness, then repeating the process over and over again.

"An aquifer?" I asked.

"Not quite." Byakuren lifted the lantern and extended it past the open doors.

The water, whose full extent I now laid eyes upon, continued on for what seemed like miles, disappearing into the night sky. I say "sky" because that is what it seemed like, but when I looked at the hill ascending above the top of the doorway, it was clear that the great spectacle that I beheld was completely underground.

Byakuren noticed my confusion, and hastily provided an explanation.

"You will perhaps remember that I told you the Temple's true form was the Palanquin Ship. Well, when I set the ship down at its current location, it was right on top of this area that you see before you. The transformation of the ship into its smaller temple form caused a stretching of the space underneath the Temple, generating an enclave within which the Mausoleum could be safely housed."

I took a few steps back and looked above the doorway, squinting into the foggy darkness. Sure enough, I could see the blades of the Myouren Temple poking out from behind the rocky arch atop the entrance to the Mausoleum.

We came to the water's edge. Just as it appeared as if Byakuren, who took a further step forward, was going to soak her sandals in the water, a bridge materialized on top of the water's surface, so thin and translucent as to be part of the water itself – I would not have noticed its appearance if the water around it had not been displaced, sloshing against the side of the bridge as it rose, meeting Byakuren's outreached foot with a light splash. Kogasa and I apprehensively followed Byakuren onto the walkway.

As we made our way through the great lake – for that was what it seemed to be, a lake that reached farther than the naked eye could see – ripples began to approach us from all sides. Upon closer inspection, I found that they were lotuses, not so close together as to be a swarm, but in dense enough groups that to the casual observer, they might have been the scales on the hump of a water creature submerged beneath the great mirror atop the water. Just as the lotuses began to bump against the bridge's walls, caressing the glass-like material as they floated curiously around us, a silhouette, dark enough that it blended into the night of the dome's interior until we were sufficiently close, loomed into view.

As the fierce blue and black of the false sky was obscured by the towering shadow of the Mausoleum, the bridge formed into rows of cloudy steps, unfolding as we ascended towards the small door situated at the base of the spire. the Mausoleum itself was of a simple design, columns of wood and stone slotting into each other and rising as high as the eye could see in the dark. The base was a clean, octagonal stone slab, and as we stepped onto the slab, the bridge behind us simply disappeared, leaving naught but the still water and the light ripples created by the lotuses as they disappeared into the distance.

Byakuren knocked on the door. "Mamizou?" she called again. Once more, there was no answer.

Byakuren pushed the door open. A wash of blue light greeted us, this one of a darker hue than the azure that coated the inside of the dome, but still vibrant nonetheless. I peered into the near-darkness, and what I saw took my breath away.

There were balls of light of varying colors and sizes slowly rotating around an invisible axis in the center of the Mausoleum, which, as it turned out, was a giant hollow cylinder stretching upwards into the "sky". The balls were like stars that had lost their warmth and power, and were now simply dead or dying husks of their former selves, still straining to produce whatever light they could muster in honor of their past glories. The smaller balls were pinpricks that matted the backdrop of the scene like real stars in a real sky; the larger balls, pulsating wisps of multi-colored illumination, strolled up and down and around, as if they were people taking walks in a park that reached in all directions. And indeed, as Byakuren was quick to point out, every single light that I saw here was a soul, a former resident of Gensokyo that had passed on, their life's lights being housed in the confines of the Mausoleum for all eternity as a reminder that they had once existed, even if the world outside Gensokyo did not know it. It was sobering, in a way, but also undoubtedly beautiful.

"Mamizou?" Byakuren yelled. Her call echoed around the vast, empty expanse, but the souls continued to spin, unperturbed by the new and very much alive presences in the vicinity.

This time, however, there was a reply.

"My, my," said the voice, which was neither Nue's nor Mamizou's. "You could wake the dead yelling like that, Byakuren Hijiri."

A look of shock passed over Byakuren's face. "You are not supposed to be here. I thought you had left this realm."

"You are not welcome here," Byakuren said stiffly. "Where are Mamizou and Nue?"

"Oh, those two?" said the voice, which we now saw belonged to a fox-eared maiden, floating casually in the air as she spoke. "They weren't so keen on letting me stay, so I had to put them to sleep for a little while. Don't worry, they're not hurt in any way, just sleeping."

Byakuren lifted a spell card from inside her robe and flung it into the air, clapping her hands together. When her hands were drawn apart, a globe of swirling light appeared between her palms.

"You will not get off lightly for laying your hands on my charges," she warned as the circle of energy lashed out angrily, hurling towards the maiden. The maiden laughed and batted the light away.

"Despite the noble front you put up all the time, you really have no sense of decorum, Byakuren Hijiri. But then again, we were never going to get along anyway."

"That is through no fault of mine, Toyosatomimi no Miko."

Miko chuckled, and pulled a sword from the scabbard on her belt, a silver blade with a spiked orb installed on the pommel. The orb glowed a blazing orange, dwarfing the weak glows of the souls behind her. The spikes on the orb, jutting out like rays of light emanating from a star, began to warp in the sheer heat of the orb's power.

"So be it."

An ethereal force shoved me out of the way as a ball of light came barreling towards me and Kogasa. It sailed down the steps behind me and struck the water, exploding upon contact and sending a light spray over our heads, the quiet pattering as the water fell on us a fitting introduction for the cacophony that was to come.

Byakuren, who had pushed me aside with the help of one of her many spell cards, stretched her hand out again. At once, a shimmering clear mass grew quickly from the ground, shrouding me and Kogasa in a domed barrier of pure, pulsating energy.

"Leave this to me," she intoned.

"Ooh, scary," Toyosatomimi no Miko called out mockingly as she soared into the dark air of the tower's interior, spinning giddily as she easily dodged Byakuren's flurry of flying spell cards. Her sword glowed, and another sphere came rocketing downwards, gaining in velocity as it hurtled mindlessly towards the floor.

Byakuren threw her arms out and drew a circle in the air. As her arms crossed, another shield of light materialized, spreading until it covered the entire entrance, and all we could see from inside our own personal barrier was an intricate web of fine threads and archaic runes, humming audibly with unknown energies, built upon the accumulated knowledge of centuries of magical defensive training.

The orb on the base of Miko's sword now took on the appearance of a small sun as she swung her blade down on Byakuren's shield. Upon impact, the barrier's chaotic form exploded, sending shockwaves reverberating through the blinding fibers until they snapped, weakening and fizzing out as the force of Miko's attack overwhelmed both them and Byakuren herself. Byakuren was flung bodily from atop the steps, crumpling onto the transparent bridge still shimmering above the water.

"Byakuren!" yelled Kogasa, who, now that the barrier protecting us had also dissipated, rushed over to Byakuren's side, turning her over onto her back. A trail of blood leaked from the beautiful strands of purple hair, now partly dyed a deep, angry crimson.

I also clambered down the steps, standing over the limp form of my host as Kogasa buried her face into Byakuren's bosom, weeping quietly.

"She won't be awake for a while yet," said the singsong, taunting voice behind us.

I turned, feeling a desperate rage building in me. "Why would you…"

"Why wouldn't I?" She giggled, though her barking laughs, rather than sounding entertained or amused, were more caustic in tone. "This place was mine once. I lived in peace, and nobody came to trouble me. That is, until Byakuren and her gang came. No one here wanted her to come. Aren't I right?" she said, turning to look behind her as if waiting for the spirits to answer. Though the balls of light could not respond, they seemed to move just a little faster, as if in agreement with what she had said.

Anger, inexplicably, turned to curiosity. "You were here even before Byakuren?"

"Compared to me, Byakuren is but a visitor. A traveler." She stared at me. "Just like you."

"I am helpless in this land. Perhaps Byakuren was also."

"That means nothing to me." Miko's gleeful face turned to stone. "The fate of Byakuren, of her little friends, of you… none of it matters in the face of the world at large. Only the shifting of the gates between worlds is of any relevance if we are to make it out of this realm alive."

"I don't quite understand," I began, but Miko held up a finger to stop me.

"I'm not here to babysit," she said, mockingly apologetic as she wagged her finger. "I'm only here to reclaim what was once mine, and a few extras along the way. If you want to see your friends again," she said as she began to hover back into the tower, her ethereal form slowly shrouded by the darkness flanking her diminutive body, "you'll have to come to me first."

"Wait, I-" I reflexively lurched after her, but with a flash of her sword, I fell backwards, and joined Byakuren in her unwitting slumber.

* * *

The night had slowly given way to dawn, and the fog, too, rushed to hide from the all-encompassing warmth of the throbbing Gensokyo sun, peeking out from behind the trees, fearful of its splendor. The waxing sunlight made its way up the marble steps, entering the Temple without ever feeling, or even having, the need to knock. The trees bowed to their benefactor; the morning breeze lauded the coming day; the dew danced frivolously in the ebbing darkness.

"Ow!" I exclaimed.

"Hold still. The salve will take a while to set in, but before then… Quite painful, I am afraid."

"Thank you," I said through gritted teeth as the sting ripping at my limbs continued to grow in intensity.

Byakuren smiled, the thick, coarse tourniquet on her head unable to mar the gentle smile that she always wore. Well, wore most of the time.

I took a sip of the tea Byakuren had made. Normally Mamizou or one of the other residents would have made it for her, but the absence of two of her charges had understandably busied her somewhat, even if there was altogether little to do in a tranquil place such as this. The tea was of a mint variety, cooling the throat as it sailed past, and the leaves, velvety and soft, floated to the meniscus, brushing against the side of the cup. Upon tasting the leaves, the true nature of the tea, belying its appearance, came to the fore, a fierce spiciness greeting my tongue as I partook of the drink.

"I call this my healing tea," Byakuren said as she sat across me, fluffing her elegant robes as she eased onto the bench, freeing her hair and letting it play across her shoulders as she watched me, the smile on her evidently worried features never wavering. "It is a tonic for the ill, even if it carries no actual medicinal qualities."

"I feel better already," I assured her.

"Good." She squinted at the sun as it peered at her, its lower half still submerged under the distant horizon. The crease on her brow grew deeper. "In case you were wondering, Kogasa is yet asleep. But she is well."

"I am glad to hear that." According to Byakuren, Kogasa, though weak and small in stature for a youkai, had endeavored to carry me and Byakuren out of the Mausoleum's lake and through the cemetery, placing us at the top of the steps of the Temple and yelling until one of the resident students, barely awake, had come to find out what all the fuss was about. Instead, he found a stranger and his master unconscious at the entrance, and soon the whole temple had been roused to bring us in and also take care of Kogasa, who had collapsed from the exertion of dragging around two adult bodies for at least a mile. I owed her much, as did Byakuren, who had announced that she was, from now on, to be welcomed as a special guest and given the best care if she ever came by.

Even through the fog of exhaustion clouding my mind, I had many questions, all clamoring at the tip of my tongue, threatening to slip from my lips. But before I could say a word, Byakuren spoke up again.

"You do not have to join me in my journey. I must atone for my sins – I cannot involve anyone who is not connected with the Temple, much less a traveler from the outside world. My good conscience would not allow me to do so."

"To begin with, I'm honestly not sure where she went. She seemed to just… disappear."

"It is a favorite trick of hers. She can bend space to her will, just as some others can bend time. Ultimately, though, I suspect there is little difference."

"So where did she go?"

"Who knows?" Byakuren shrugged. "But my best guess is that she went to the one place she knew I would never dare approach, my erstwhile prison, the thought of which sends regular, incessant chills down my spine even as I enjoy my newfound freedom."

"Makai?" I offered, recalling what she had told me earlier in the day.

She did not reply, instead shooting an almost abashed glance at me. Then, she continued. "Again, I urge you to stay in the Village and pass your days peacefully. I know your curiosity is currently ill-sated, but I must insist on behalf of your own personal safety. As for me… I must make the journey, even if I must die for it. Staying here and doing nothing would eat at my life regardless."

I bit my lip. I knew that if I followed, I would be nothing but a burden to her, even if every part of me was yearning for the unmatchable bliss of a new adventure's beginning. Boredom, it seems, had taken a strong hold on my mind as I had passed those uneventful days in the Village, sitting at my desk, reading for the sake of freeing my mind, if not my body.

"I understand. I will take my leave soon, then."

"I do not mind you staying here at the Temple if you so wish. I just would not want to worry Kosuzu and Akyuu, as I know they care about you deeply. Perhaps more than you realize." A twinkle appeared in her eye, but what I thought was a catching of the nascent sunlight turned out to be a single tear. Byakuren quickly wiped it on her sleeve, and abruptly stood. I finished my tea off, and also rose.

"I must extend my gratitude for your thorough care and protection of me throughout my stay, though I understand that now may not be the best time for such words."

"Any words of thanks are welcome to my ears. I can only offer an apology in return for bringing you into harm's way." Byakuren placed her hands on her thighs and bowed deeply.

"It's no matter. I wish you all the best, and I only hope you are successful in bringing your students back."

"I certainly hope so too. Would you like me to escort you back?"

"No, thank you. I would rather you prepared for your trip with all the haste you can afford."

"Then I hope to see you again in the not-so-distant future. If you get a request for more books at Suzunaan, then I suppose you will know then that all is well."

"I'm looking forward to it." I turned to leave, and as I descended the marble steps, the red flags on either side of me fluttering silently in the wind, the doors of the Temple behind me snapped quietly shut.

A brisk walk of just under half an hour was enough for the Village to appear in my sights, and though I definitely had mixed feelings about leaving Byakuren in such desperate circumstances, I could only feel relief at the sight of a frantic-looking Kosuzu lifting the hem of her dress above the ground, half-walking, half-running towards me.

"Traveler!" she exclaimed, waving. Upon releasing her grip on her robes, the edge of the fabric caught on her feet, and she fell face-first into the dirt. I ran over and helped her up, brushing the errant soil from her youthful face.

"Don't worry, Kosuzu. I'm well."

"You sure are late," said another voice. I looked up to see Hieda no Akyuu glaring at me, though her mouth was curled in a relieved half-smile.

"I apologize. A lot happened."

"Evidently so." Akyuu motioned to the bandages on my arm. "Did you end up on the wrong end of Byakuren's special lessons?"

"Far from it. I will tell you when we get back."

Upon settling down into the warm confines of the rental shop's back room, I told the pair about what had transpired. The looks on their faces turned from wonder to shock, before finally stopping on concern.

"Byakuren Hijiri is going alone?" Akyuu wore the exact same expression as I did back at the Temple. "She is powerful, for sure. But the horrors of Makai are well-documented, and even she was confined there for many a century. I understand her purpose, but she is being foolhardy."

"I would have offered to help if I could do anything more than run," I sighed.

"Actually, you may be able to help her in some way," Kosuzu said cryptically. "Not directly, though."

"What do you mean?"

"A guest was asking for you in town today, earlier this morning. You probably know her well, and it seems she knows you well, too."

"Who?" I asked, but neither Kosuzu nor Akyuu needed to answer. A cheery, genial voice hollered a greeting from outside the store, and as the entrance curtains were brushed aside, a large, red ribbon poked through, followed by sweeping white and red robes and a grin to herald the joy that suddenly swelled within me.

"Miss me yet?" Reimu Hakurei asked playfully.

"All the time." We embraced, though rather quickly as we could feel Kosuzu and Akyuu's eyes drilling into our backs. "What brings you here?"

"I happened to find that my kettle was missing." She winked. "Plus, I thought I would check on you. Only a couple hours' flight from the Shrine."

"Flight?" I wasn't as surprised as I thought I would be.

"You heard me. How are you, Kosuzu?"

"I'm well, thank you." Kosuzu hurriedly bowed in greeting, and Akyuu did the same.

"I am surprised you are up so early," Reimu looked up at me. "Something happen? You don't look too happy."

"A lot has been going on," I admitted.

"Then you will have to tell me all about it. I can't stand being out of the loop."

Watching her face fall as I recounted last night's events, I almost felt guilty for letting the cat out of the bag. But she would have found out sooner or later, or at least nagged me about it until I caved in.

"That is no good." Reimu scratched the giant ribbon on her head. "I haven't always been too friendly with Byakuren, but Makai is a place that no one should go to if they don't have to. But I guess she has to, in a way. I would do the same."

"I don't suppose there's much we can do, then?"

"There is always something we can do. It's all about whether we are willing to do it. If I was willing, I would go after her and back her up."

"Are you, though?" In a way, I was also asking myself the same question, even though I again knew that there was little I could offer in terms of fighting the evils that inhabited the region. But I knew that if I were given the opportunity to explore more of Gensokyo, I would jump at it, even if it turned out to be a dead end.

Reimu sensed the eagerness on my part to act, but, like Byakuren, was hesitant to indulge it.

"It is not the best place for a human," she warned.

"I know. But maybe if I learned a little magic, I would at least be of some help," I suggested.

I was fully expecting her to flat-out refuse me at this point, so I was taken aback by what she said next.

"You know what? That... is actually not a bad idea."


End file.
